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Reference.org
Chemically inert
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<p>In <a href="/facts/Chemistry/SrNqkGVm">chemistry</a>, the term chemically inert is used to describe a substance that is not <a href="/facts/Chemically_reactive/PuJ2pmRT">chemically reactive</a>. From a thermodynamic perspective, a substance is inert, or <a href="/facts/Lability/Gg1wYBfG">nonlabile</a>, if it is thermodynamically <a href="/facts/Chemical_stability/j0YIgc6F">unstable</a> yet decomposes at a slow, or negligible rate. </p><p>Most of the <a href="/facts/Noble_gases/j0yHMEAE">noble gases</a>, which appear in the last column of the <a href="/facts/Periodic_table/umdGIfUb">periodic table</a>, are classified as inert (or unreactive). These elements are stable in their naturally occurring form (gaseous form) and they are called <a href="/facts/Inert_gas/3EkBEoYh">inert gases</a>. </p>