Neon is an inert gas, which means it is not reactive with other elements. That is why it has no taste or smell, and why it does not form compounds with other elements. It also has a low boiling point, meaning that it can be used as a coolant and refrigerant, much like liquid helium or hydrogen. The classic neon sign is perhaps its best-known application.
Neon was first discovered by chemists William Ramsay and Morris Travers in 1898. They were testing argon, krypton, and xenon for their properties, and they froze the argon, then evaporated it into a glass tube and ran a high voltage through it to find out what would happen. The result was that the gas glowed a bright reddish-orange color.
When electric current passes through a neon tube, it makes some of the atoms in the gas to become positively charged ions and release their electrons. These ions and electrons then drift across the tube, colliding with each other, absorbing and discharging energy in the form of light. The light produced is in the form of photons (light particles) and has a specific wavelength, resulting in the iconic glow we all know and love.
Neon is among the noble gases that make up group 18 on the Periodic Table, alongside helium, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. Like the other noble gases, it is colourless under normal conditions and has very little chemical reactivity. However, when an electric current with a certain voltage and amperage is passed through it, the electrons in the gas atoms are expelled from their original orbits and move to higher ones. This releases the energy, which causes the gas to discharge and produce a specific colour of light.
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