Neon is a noble gas (element number 10 on the periodic table) and part of group 18 along with argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. Noble gases are inert and have very low chemical reactivity. The gas glows red-orange when an electric discharge passes through it in a vacuum. Georges Claude made the first neon discharge tubes in Paris in 1910. Today, the gas is most widely used in illuminated signs and Christmas lights.
Neon was discovered in 1898 by a pair of British chemists, William Ramsay and Morris Travers. There are three stable isotopes of neon, with neon-20 making up about 90% of the natural supply. Six other unstable isotopes exist. Neon does not form compounds with other elements in nature, but it can form clathrates and Van der Waals molecules under extreme conditions, as well as short-lived dimeric ions called excimers. Neon also forms a weak compound with fluorine.
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A neon ion beam is a radiation source used in cancer treatment to deliver high doses of radiation directly to tumor cells without affecting normal cells. The beam can also be used to track a patient’s location during surgery.