Inert gas asphyxiation accidental death in humans, inert gas asphyxia with gases including helium, nitrogen, methane and argon has been used as a suicide method. Inert gas asphyxia has been advocated by proponents of euthanasia, using a gas-retaining plastic hood device colloquially referred to as a suicide bag. Nitrogen asphyxiation has been suggested by a number of lawmakers and other advocates as a more humane way to carry out capital punishment. In April 2015, the Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed a bill authorizing nitrogen asphyxiation as an alternative execution method in cases where the state's preferred method of lethal injection was not available
Incandescent light bulb are filled with an inert gas to reduce evaporation of the filament and prevent its oxidation. The gas is at a pressure of about . The role of the gas is to prevent evaporation of the filament, but the fill must be chosen carefully to avoid introducing significant heat losses. For these properties, chemical inertness and high atomic or molecular weight is desirable. The presence of gas molecules knocks the liberated tungsten atoms back to the filament, reducing its evaporation and allowing it to be operated at higher temperature without reducing its life (or, for operating at the same temperature,