Nitrogen fixation is a process in which
nitrogen (N
2) in the
atmosphere is converted into
ammonium (NH
4+) or
nitrogen dioxide , for example. Atmospheric nitrogen or molecular nitrogen (N
2) is relatively inert: it does not easily react with other chemicals to form new compounds. The fixation process frees up the nitrogen atoms from their
triply bonded diatomic form, N=N, to be used in other ways.