Neon is a noble gas, and the second lightest of the group with atomic number 10. It forms no compounds and has a full outer shell with eight valence electrons. It is also a diamagnetic element and does not react with most other elements. It has three stable isotopes and a few radioactive ones.
It is very rare on Earth. It only makes up 18 millionths of the planet’s atmosphere and a smaller fraction in its crust. It is much more common in the universe and the solar system, where it comes from the alpha-capture fusion process in stars.
In 1898, William Ramsay and Morris Travers were trying to get krypton from solid argon when they discovered that neon produced a brilliant red-orange glow when exposed to electric discharge in a vacuum. They named it neon after the Greek word neos, meaning “new.”
This gas has no known ecological impact and poses no danger to human beings. However, when inhaled at high concentrations, it can act as a simple asphyxiant by displacing oxygen in the lungs. Symptoms begin with rapid respirations, air hunger and fatigue, followed by confusion, faulty judgment, nausea, vomiting, prostration, unconsciousness and finally death.
Today, neon is used for high-voltage indicators and combined with helium to make lasers. It is also found in brightly lit advertising signs. It is very expensive and hard to find because it must be recovered from the air. A pound of the gas requires processing 88,000 pounds of liquefied air to produce.
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