Oxygen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is the third most abundant element in the universe. It was discovered in the late 18th century by Scheele, Priestley, and Lavoisier. Oxygen is essential for human life and occurs freely as O2 or combined as oxides and silicates. It has poor conductivity but dissolves readily in water. Oxygen supports combustion, is non-combustible itself, and is used for respiration, rocket fuel, welding, and removing carbon impurities from metals.