Editing Buffer gas (section)

{{Refimprove|date=April 2024}}

A '''buffer gas''' is an inert or nonflammable [[gas]].  In the [[Earth's atmosphere]], [[nitrogen]] acts as a buffer gas.  A buffer gas adds [[pressure]] to a system and controls the speed of [[combustion]] with any [[oxygen]] present.  Any [[inert gas]] such as [[helium]], [[neon]], or [[argon]] will serve as a buffer gas.

A buffer gas usually consists of atomically [[inert gases]] such as [[helium]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=deCarvalho |first1=R. |last2=Doyle |first2=J.M. |last3=Friedrich |first3=B. |last4=Guillet |first4=T. |last5=Kim |first5=J. |last6=Patterson |first6=D. |last7=Weinstein |first7=J.D. |date=1999 |title=Buffer-gas loaded magnetic traps for atoms and molecules: A primer |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s100530050572 |journal=The European Physical Journal D |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=289 |doi=10.1007/s100530050572|bibcode=1999EPJD....7..289D |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hiramoto |first1=Ayami |last2=Baba |first2=Masaaki |last3=Enomoto |first3=Katsunari |last4=Iwakuni |first4=Kana |last5=Kuma |first5=Susumu |last6=Takahashi |first6=Yuiki |last7=Tobaru |first7=Reo |last8=Miyamoto |first8=Yuki |date=2023-04-13 |title=Measurement of Doppler effects in a cryogenic buffer-gas cell |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.107.043114 |journal=Physical Review A |language=en |volume=107 |issue=4 |page=043114 |arxiv=2211.09015 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevA.107.043114 |bibcode=2023PhRvA.107d3114H |issn=2469-9926}}</ref> [[argon]], or [[nitrogen]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Parrish |first1=Clyde F. |last2=Lueck |first2=Dale E. |last3=Jennings |first3=Paul A. |last4=Callahan |first4=Richard A. |date=2001 |title=Buffer Gas Acquisition and Storage |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20010027421/downloads/20010027421.pdf |website=NASA}}</ref> [[Krypton]], [[neon]], and [[xenon]] are also used, primarily for lighting.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} In most scenarios, buffer gases are used in conjunction with other [[molecules]] for the main purpose of causing collisions with the other co-existing molecules.

Buffer gases are commonly used in many applications from [[gas discharge lamp|high pressure discharge lamps]] to reduce line width of [[microwave]] transitions in [[Alkali|alkali atoms]].