Neon (pronounced: NEE-on) is a rare, colorless, odorless chemical element that glows reddish orange in an electric discharge. It is used in the famous neon signs that illuminate streets and shops around the world. It is also found in vacuum discharge tubes, in which it is commonly mixed with helium for use in common laser pointers.
It is the second lightest noble gas, and its atomic number is 10, giving it the symbol Ne on the Periodic Table devised by Dimitri Mendeleev. It does not react with any other element, making it a very inert and useful gas. It does, however, form compounds with fluorine.
Like the other noble gases, it is a nonmetallic element and has no magnetic properties. It is a diamagnetic and does not conduct electricity. Its name is derived from the Greek word neos, meaning new, and was coined by William Ramsay and Morris Travers after they discovered it in 1898 while attempting to isolate krypton gas from liquid air.
It is extremely rare on Earth, occurring in the atmosphere only about 18 parts per million and requiring a process known as fractional distillation to separate it from the rest of the air. It has three stable isotopes, the most common of which is neon-20, with a 90% concentration in nature. Neon is also found in stars, where it forms part of the nucleosynthesis process during a star’s life. Like other noble gases, it is a nontoxic and nonreactive gas. It can, however, be harmful if inhaled in high concentrations. This can occur because it displaces oxygen in the lungs, resulting in asphyxiation.
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