Neon is an element which is very much present in Las Vegas. It is considered that gas that makes the said place shine. It is even dubbed noble for that matter. Neon, as many student know is found in the right column of the Periodic Table. It is one of the six elements situated there. All of these are inert in nature. Well, they are described that way because these noble gases do not react willingly. This takes place since the outermost shell enveloping the electrons are full. This why the gases are not given any incentive to have the electrons swapped with that of other kinds of elements. As an aftermath to this, there are compounds which are perceived as noble gases.

More about the noble gas

There are still many neon element facts that have to be discovered by many. However, if there are basics that have to be learned, it would definitely boil down to its name. Its name was obtained from “neos.” This was a Greek word which means new. In the year 1898, the gas was isolated initially by the partnership of chemists named Morris Travers and William Ramsay. They became really busy in the discovery of the said noble gases. They did this left and right. This was the time when the noticed that liquefied air evaporated.

They began with liquid argon. This evaporated too. This was then dubbed as krypton. This suited the niche just at the bottom of the Periodic Table.

Neon is usually found in most neon signs. They actually come with a history which is really century-long. Primarily, French engineer Georges Claude developed the idea in 1902. It was found out that neon lights have the capacity to create light whenever electricity is applied to them. This was performed with a sealed glass tube. Argon on the other hand produces blue light. Neon is a clear orange-red. This is very much familiar to a lot of neon signs around.

The way neon works

Neon works with argon. The electrons seen at every end of a glass tube would have to be filled with the gas of the said elements. They will be connected afterwards with an alternating current. There will be a change for every electron. This is going to occur for fifty times for every second. This can be witnessed on the sealed tube. Negative charges are needed in this process. This is the method for them to be drawn for a positively charged electron. During the whole process, the electrons will be crashing in the argon or neon molecule. This will knock the electrons lose.

Whenever the electrons are lost, gas molecules will be charged positively. The molecules will eventually go back to their original, neutral state. As this occurs, electrons are grabbed. They will they start to illuminate and give light. They will be visible and they will glow. That is how a neon sign is achieved.