The noble gases said to be inert: a modern chemistry

The historical aspect of ''Noble'' gases -helium, neon, argon, krypton, radon- is reviewed. It was necessary to wait more than sixty years, for the time of the nuclear industry, with the development of fluorine chemistry: then, fluorine, the most reactive gas was mastered and used; N. Bartlett, in 1962, discovered the xenon fluorides and gave birth to a most fruitful field of modern chemistry. Today number of compounds exist and are used in very diverse domains: nuclear chemistry, rocket fuels, biochemical, organic and medical applications. In particular trapping of radon in uranium mines by BrF3 and use of RnF2 in radiotherapy are briefly examined