Neon is a noble gas that glows a bright reddish orange when electricity passes through it, such as in a sign. It is the fourth most abundant element in the universe, but only a trace amount of it exists on Earth. Neon was first discovered in 1898 by British chemists William Ramsay and Morris Travers. They chilled a sample of air until it became a liquid, then evaporated it and collected the gases that vaporized, including neon, argon and krypton. The chemists immediately noticed that the neon gas glowed a vibrant crimson when subjected to electric discharge in a vacuum, and they named it after the Greek word for new.
Although it is an inert, nonreactive, and colorless gas under normal conditions, neon is a useful material for electric signs and other applications that require a colored light. When neon is combined with phosphors on the inside of a glass tube, it can produce more than 150 different colors of lighting.
The neon in a sign is typically produced by using an electric discharge through a vacuum that excites the atoms, making them more positively charged and less likely to bond with electrons in their outer shell. As the ions move around the tube, they emit photons of red light.
Neon is also used in a variety of medical applications, including detecting leaks in oil and gas exploration (fracking). It’s important to note that neon is not safe to touch or inhale. If the gas is inhaled, it can cause a variety of symptoms, such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting and loss of consciousness.
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