Who Discovered Neon
By: Want To Know It
Neon, a chemical element with the symbol Ne, is a very common element in the universe but rare on the earth. It exists as a colourless gas and is extracted for commercial use from air. But who discovered neon? This article will answer that very question, and also look at nine interesting facts about neon.
Who Discovered Neon
Neon was discovered in 1898 by Scottish chemist William Ramsay and English chemist Morris Travers. It was discovered when Ramsay cooled a sample of the atmosphere until it became liquid. Cleverly, he then boiled the liquid and captured the gases as the liquid boiled. He discovered three different gases; krypton, xenon and neon. So there you go! You now know who discovered neon. Now let’s look at nine fascinating facts about neon.
Nine Fascinating Facts about Neon
Fact 1: Neon is named after the greek work ‘neon’ (obviously!) which means ‘new one’.
Fact 2: Neon is a noble gas and is almost completely inert (which means it almost never reacts with other elements). However, neon does form unstable hydrates and neon ions are slightly reactive
Fact 3: Advertising signs are often made out of neon lights. You can recognise a neon light by its very distinctive red-orange color.
Fact 4: Neon is the fifth most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen, helium, oxygen and carbon. It is rare of earth as it is inert and light.
Fact 5: Neon is found as a monatomic gas. This means it is found as Ne, not Ne2 at standard conditions.
Fact 6: There was probably more neon on the earth some time in its history, as large concentrations of neon are found in diamonds.
Fact 7: Neon is used in vacuum tubes, helium-neon lasers, television tubes and high-voltage indicators.
Fact 8: Neon has three stable isotopes. The most abundant, at a little over 90%, is 20Ne.
Fact 9: Neon is the second lightest noble gas.
25 Comments for Who Discovered Neon
1. justin cockrell | November 7th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
i think it was great that he discovered neon
2. Briana Cisneros | February 21st, 2009 at 4:58 pm
How did the person who discovered neon look?
3. Want to know it | February 22nd, 2009 at 3:15 am
Just do a Google Image Search (images.google.com) for both William Ramsay and Morris Travers. You will find plenty of pics!
4. Jordyn q | February 25th, 2009 at 8:56 am
thanks so much you guys you helped me out heaps on my homework
peace
5. james | April 20th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
whoa you guys helped me a lot on my project. you basically answered like two pages of questions
6. d-nice | April 21st, 2009 at 4:20 pm
thankz 4 da info i hope i get a good grade
7. sarah | June 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 am
yeah you sure helped me alot too!
8. Brtany Spears | September 11th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Thanx ppl i’ll rite u a song u helped alot now i get my own neon sign lol
:):)
9. michelle | September 14th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
wow this helped for something school related but having to cite it shall be interesting because of the authors name. lol
10. Want to know it | September 14th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Hi Michelle,
Just cite the name of the website ‘Want to Know It’.
11. chuck norris | September 28th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
neon is the COOLEST thing ever on this whole wide planet.
12. jasmin | September 28th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
what family does neon belong to?
13. Want to know it | September 29th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Neon is a ‘noble gas’
14. billy | September 29th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
THANKS FOR THE HELP
15. mister google | November 10th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
wow that really helped me on my homework!
16. someone who got helped | November 18th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
woo this helped me alot making my science poster thanks kk
17. Alexis | November 18th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
thanx this really helped me to find out bout neon with a school related project for my computer class;)
18. william | December 8th, 2009 at 1:49 am
how is neon used?
19. Want to know it | December 8th, 2009 at 3:26 am
Some uses include:
- Producing a red-orange glow in advertising signs.
- Helium-neon lasers
- High-voltage indicators
- Vacuum tubes
- Wave meter tubes
- Television tubes
20. dest | January 25th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
um good job/work you really inspired me to look at more things that came from the periodic table
21. sean | February 16th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
thanks a lot you guys just helped me so much on my homework
22. Leroy | February 18th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
what year did they discover neon
23. Want to know it | February 18th, 2010 at 11:22 pm
1898
24. anonymus | March 29th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
where can neon be found in the world?
25. Want to know it | March 30th, 2010 at 7:59 am
Neon is found in the atmosphere (the air) in trace amounts.
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