How is “noble” being used in these contexts below? I think of noble in its relation to ruling as in British nobility. Are these subjects and elements somehow higher in some sense than their peers:
Noble fields of study:
There are five according to someone: music, philosophy, physics, mathematics, and (one other).
(either Edwin Hung said this or he was quoting someone else)
**Noble gases: **
Helium and neon
For the gases, I assumed it wasn’t so much that they were higher, just that they didn’t combine with any other elements, so (by metaphor,) they’re like the nobility, who only socialize among their own kind.
And there are significantly more Noble Gases than helium and neon. That entire extreme right-hand column is Noble (Inert) Gases.
Helium
Neon
Argon
Krypton
Xenon
Radon
(Ununoctium) - Included but they’ve only ever seen 3 atoms of it so far, so not sure how established it is.
That’s how I remember having it explained to me in high school chemistry.
This should be in GQ.
According to wiki, the term comes from the German word edelgas, or noble gas. It also alludes to it being analogous to noble metal, which I think, at least in concept, goes back to antiquity.