Who Discovered Neon
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.
justin cockrell
i think it was great that he discovered neon
Briana Cisneros
How did the person who discovered neon look?
Want to know it
Just do a Google Image Search (images.google.com) for both William Ramsay and Morris Travers. You will find plenty of pics!
Jordyn q
thanks so much you guys you helped me out heaps on my homework
peace
james
whoa you guys helped me a lot on my project. you basically answered like two pages of questions
d-nice
thankz 4 da info i hope i get a good grade
sarah
yeah you sure helped me alot too!
Brtany Spears
Thanx ppl i’ll rite u a song u helped alot now i get my own neon sign lol :):):)
michelle
wow this helped for something school related but having to cite it shall be interesting because of the authors name. lol 🙂
Want to know it
Hi Michelle,
Just cite the name of the website ‘Want to Know It’.
chuck norris
neon is the COOLEST thing ever on this whole wide planet.
jasmin
what family does neon belong to?
Want to know it
Neon is a ‘noble gas’
billy
THANKS FOR THE HELP
mister google
wow that really helped me on my homework!
someone who got helped
woo this helped me alot making my science poster thanks kk
Alexis
thanx this really helped me to find out bout neon with a school related project for my computer class;)
william
how is neon used?
Want to know it
Some uses include:
– Producing a red-orange glow in advertising signs.
– Helium-neon lasers
– High-voltage indicators
– Vacuum tubes
– Wave meter tubes
– Television tubes
dest
um good job/work you really inspired me to look at more things that came from the periodic table
sean
thanks a lot you guys just helped me so much on my homework
Leroy
what year did they discover neon
Want to know it
1898
anonymus
where can neon be found in the world?
Want to know it
Neon is found in the atmosphere (the air) in trace amounts.
Mary
is neon ionic bonding or covalent bonding?? hw!!!!!!!!
Want to know it
Neon doesn’t normally bond with anything so it has neither ionic nor covalent bonding.
james
what country was neon discovered in?
what is the AVERAGE atomic mass for neon?
Want to know it
James,
Neon was discovered in London, England.
The average atomic mass is 20.1797 grams per mole.
Elisa
Thanks, this really did help with my project. I hope I get a good grade:)
JJ
what noble gas is most often used in neon sign?
Want to know it
Neon is most often used.
Elizabeth
great article! straight to the point, awesome for school science project!
sam
thanks i needed this for a research project
tweena
Thanks, I needed this for my science class