Buffer gas Buffer gas 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. Buffer gases are commonly used in many applications from high pressure discharge lamps to reduce line width of microwave transitions in alkali atoms. A buffer gas usually consists of atomically inert gases such as helium, argon, and nitrogen which are the primary gases used. Krypton, neon,
Trace gas the major greenhouse gases are water, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and CFCs. These gases can absorb infrared radiation from the Earth's surface as it passes through the atmosphere. The most important greenhouse gas is water vapor because it can trap about 80 percent of outgoing IR radiation. The second most important greenhouse gas, and the most important one affected by man-made sources into the atmosphere, is carbon dioxide. The reason for why greenhouse gases can absorb infrared radiation is their molecular structure. For example, carbon dioxide has two basic modes of vibration that create a strong dipole-moment, which