Neon is a gas that glows with a vivid color and can be used to add energy, vibrancy and attention-grabbing appeal to design. Neon colors include shades such as electric lime, shocking pink and atomic tangerine. It is important to understand how neon colors interact with one another before selecting them for your project. This will ensure that the final result is visually appealing and complements the overall aesthetic of your design.
Neon (pronounced: NEE-on) was discovered in 1898 by chemists William Ramsay and Morris Travers in an experiment using liquefied air. It is the fourth most abundant element in the universe but only accounts for about 0.0018 percent of Earth’s atmosphere, according to Chemicool. Ramsay and Travers were analyzing a sample of argon when they noticed that it glowed a bright red. They named the new element based on its distinctive glowing quality, taking the name from the Greek word neos for “new.”
Like all noble gases, neon is chemically inert and does not form stable compounds with other elements in nature. However, it can form weak bonds with some other substances in extremely low temperatures and high pressures, creating clathrates and Van der Waals molecules.
The glowing quality of neon results from a process called electron excitation. A voltage across a tube’s electrodes accelerates free electrons to the point where they reach a maximum kinetic energy. This energy causes them to knock electrons off atoms of other gases in the tube, such as oxygen and nitrogen, and produce light.