13 Fun And Interesting Neon Element Facts That Will Amaze You

Neon was introduced by British chemist Morris Travers in 1898 and denominated after the Greek word 'neos.'

Neon is made of ionic molecules, clathrates, molecules (aggregate with Van der Waals force) and is placed as the most electronegative element on the Allen electronegativity scale. It was easy to recognize by its red emission spectrum.

Having the fifth rank with cosmic abundance, it seems pretty common in the universe. However, it is a rare gas that stays by merely 18.2 ppm of air on Earth.

Neon tends to break out from planetesimals in the heat of the sun, which is why Earth and inner terrestrial planets encounter a lack of presence of neon. With its reddish-orange glow, neon can be packed to make neon lights, discharge tubes, and advertising neon signs.

After being excerpted by fractional distillation of liquid air, it becomes ready for commercial use such as helium-neon lasers, plasma tubes, refrigerant applications, vacuum tubes, lightning arrestors, television tubes, high voltage indicators, and wave-meter tubes. It is safe to use because it is non-flammable and it can also be very cost-effective.

Properties Of Neon

Neon itself does not have any color, but it may change to reddish-orange during electric discharge. Physical and chemical properties are responsible for identifying neon.

Under certain conditions, neon is the second lightest substance with a limited expanse among noble gas. It can get stabilized in solid, liquid, gas, and plasma form.

Physical properties define traits that are noticed without any alterations to the object, such as color, hardness, odor, freezing point, density, and melting point. When it is in low pressure, neon remains colorless, but an electric transit can make this orange-red. It is water-soluble.

After retaliating against another substance during any reaction, it can create chemical properties such as heating, exploding, burning, tarnishing, and rusting.

Neon does not react with oxygen during typical conditions. Because it is chemically inactive, we are yet to develop any compounds.

Uses Of Neon

Neon atoms have a stable electronic configuration, which puts neon alongside inert gases, which makes neon credible for commercial uses in neon signs.

It is seen to be used in a vacuum tube and neon light bulbs with great longevity. Light production varies on the volume of the neon. It is pretty common in the advertisement industry.

Manufacturers fill bulbs with gas and create words with these bulbs. With a bright scope of light, neon signs can easily attract customers.

Lasers are supposed to throw bright light in a single line for diverse purposes. These include surgery, research, and development of various kinds. Making this device requires neon and helium combined.

Rarely, deep-sea divers' suits consist of an oxygen and neon mixture. Although it can be cost-effective, it is less soluble in blood and could affect health.

High voltage indicators use neon in their mechanism in a way that causes the gas to glow with exceeding voltage beyond limitation.

Wave-meters use neon to assemble light to exhibit certain waveforms, but the process also requires a source of heat.

Because it is bright, neon is often used in lamps amidst foggy surroundings in the locomotive industry.

Neon has a -410.9 F (-246 C) boiling point and it is non-responsive to metal and non-metal elements, which make it a cryogenic refrigerant.

Old televisions used to contain neon in tubes, which was supposed to project lights with an electric transition.

Oil industries use neon to identify fracking leaks. Because it is non-responsive, it reveals leaks while moving.

Plasma screens hold neon behind the screen. Exposure to electricity is used to cause light, and because neon is responsive to phosphorus, it produces colors.

Usually, high voltage is required for a lighting arrestor with neon, as it does not allow the current to pass through it. However, if lightning strikes, it will send the current to the ground.

Hypothetically, a monatomic gas like neon can take place as a helium substitute in air balloons. But lack of oxygen and the possibility of asphyxiation can cause respiration issues for passengers.

Neon has a presence in aircraft lights and ultra-sensitive infrared imaging coolant mechanisms in the aerospace and aircraft industry.

Characteristics Of Neon

Neon was introduced with Morris W. Travers and Sir William Ramsay, British chemists.

Neon has a face-centered cubic structure; it is categorized as Ne.

Neon-20, Neon-21, Neon-22 are the stable isotopes of this chemical element.

It can stay in solid, liquid, and gas form thanks to its melting point and boiling point which are -415.48 F (-248.6 °C) and -410.9 F (-246 C), respectively.

The chemical element neon has the atomic number 10.

A neon atom has a radius of 38 pm and 2,8 outer shell with [He]2s22p6 electron configuration. It also has 0.396 A3 polarizability volume.

Neon does not get involved in any reaction with the chemical bonds of air, 15 M HNO3, 6 M HCl, 6 M NaOH.

Interesting Facts About Neon Elements

Although we all are familiar with neon sign advertisements from industries, we may not know exactly how this works.

Argon was isolated by Morris Travers and John Williams by 1894. Sir William Ramsay alone was responsible for isolating helium.

They decided to give it another go, and subsequently, neon, krypton, and xenon were discovered in 1898. In 1904 Ramsey was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contributions to these discoveries.

Because neon is non-reactive, which makes it ideal for commercial use, neon is abundant in the universe, but covers only 0.0018% of air on Earth. To cumulate a single unit of liquid neon, 88,000 units of liquid air would be required to go through a process of compression and expansion.

In commercial neon signs, we may think they use only neon in glass tubes, but the combination of different gases are helium, xenon, and mercury vapor, which causes pinkish-red, purple, and blue light, respectively.

While deep blue light can be an outcome of argon and mercury, neon-argon produce a red spectrum.

The trend of making commercial neon lighting was initiated by French engineer Georges Claude and L'Air Liquide; his venture started selling liquified components (liquid helium, liquid hydrogen, liquid nitrogen) of air individually.

Being influenced by Moore lamps, Georges Claude decided to fill up a sealed tube with neon which was apparently book-ended with electrodes. With this, the very first neon lights were introduced in Paris by 1910, and in 1912 Claude was able to trade them. In 1915 neon lighting helped him to gain a US patent.

It was rumored by historians like Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein, that before coming to Las Vegas, the neon sign had to pass through California (which was initiated with Car Company Packard).

But lately, neon has gained dominance over Vegas's architectural aesthetics (for example, Neon Museum).