The name neon may bring to mind those lighted signs that are such an integral part of Las Vegas, but it’s also an important element in the science of chemistry. As an inert gas, neon is odorless and colorless, but it glows a bright red-orange when subjected to electric discharge. Its luminosity makes it useful in display lights, indicators and signs.
Neon is the second-lightest noble gas and the sixth-lightest element overall. It is found in the Earth’s atmosphere at a concentration of only one part per million and is produced commercially by extraction from liquid air.
It has a low boiling and freezing point, and is used as a cryogenic refrigerant. Its high cooling capacity allows it to replace helium in some applications, and its nonreactivity makes it suitable for use with sensitive electronics. Its vapor is odourless and tasteless, but if inhaled can cause dizziness, nausea, vomiting and unconsciousness.
Like its fellow noble gases helium, argon, krypton and xenon, it is chemically inert and forms only a few compounds under very specific conditions. Its outermost electron shell is fully occupied, so it has no incentive to swap with other elements for a more stable configuration. However, it is able to form short-lived dimeric molecules called excimers (excimer is a contraction of “excited dimer”) with atoms that have not yet completed their octet. Neon can also bind to fluorine, forming a compound that is used to fix temperature measurement points for the International Temperature Scale.
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