Sir William Ramsay, a Scottish chemist, and Morris M. Travers, an English chemist, discovered neon. Another important person is Georges Claude, a French chemist, who invented neon lighting around (1870-1960). Claude showed his first neon sign at the Paris Exposition of 1910. And then sold the first neon advertising sign to a Paris barber two years later. Around the 1920s, neon lighting had become popular in many parts of the world. In 1922, the Haaxman brothers brought the first neon signs to Holland. And in 1932, the first neon signs reached the United States. Neon is a nonmetal. Neon is the second element in Group 18 of the periodic table. Neon is in the element family the Noble gases. This element contains 10 Protons & Electrons
with 10 neutrons in the nucleus of the atom. Neon has an atomic mass of 20.1797 g/mol and, at a temperature of 20°C, and has a density of 0.84 g/cm3. It will melt at a temperature of -248.7°C and boil at -246.1°C. Although neon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe, only 0.0018% of the earth’s atmosphere is neon.
Neon comes from the Greek word for “new”, Neos. Neon was discovered through the study of liquefied air. The largest use for neon gas is in advertising signs. Neon is also used to make high voltage indicators, gas lazars, television sets, some refrigerators, vacuums, electronic safety devices, lamp fluid, and airplane beacons etc. Experiments have shown that some properties of neon may also be used in special breathing mixtures for space travelers and deep-sea divers.
Also stars produce neon during the later stages of nuclear fusion. Neon is colorless, tasteless, and odorless. Neon is over 40 times more effective than helium.
Neon is non-toxic, meaning it is harmless. This is because neon is an inert element that has no chemical impact on the environment around it and forms no compound. Also it has very low reactivity. Neon is a very inert element. It does not react with air, even under extreme conditions. It does not react readily with other substances, yet can form a compound with fluorine to create a florescent blue color. If the gas is placed in a glass tube and has an electric current passed through it, the tube glows with an orange-red light. The adding of Mercury may change the color of the light to blue or green. It can be prepared by liquification of air and separated from other elements by fractional distillation.
Annual world production is around 1 ton. Neon is naturally made. And costs between $2.80 a liter & $4.20 a liter.