Question No.  15319 :
What is neon and what is it used for? When was it discovered? Who discovered it?

Neon is a chemical element of Group 0 (noble gases) of the periodic table. This element is more abundant in the cosmos than on Earth. It is colourless, odourless, tasteless, and lighter than air. Neon is used chiefly for filling lamps and luminous sign tubes. When under low pressure, neon emits a bright orange-red light if an electrical current is passed through it. This property is utilised in neon signs (which first became familiar in the 1920s), in some fluorescent and gaseous conduction lamps, and in high-voltage testers. Its usual colour in lamps is bright reddish-orange. The addition of a few drops of mercury makes the light a brilliant blue. Many aeroplane beacons use neon light because it can penetrate fog. A number of aeroplane pilots have reported that neon beacons were visible for 32 kilometres when it was impossible for them to see other kinds of lights. Neon is a chemical element that makes up about 1 part per 65,000 in the Earth's atmosphere. The British chemists Sir William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers discovered the element in the atmosphere while they were studying liquid air in 1898. Ramsay had predicted the existence of this gas in 1897. Ramsay and Travers named the gas neon, for the Greek word that means new. The gas is produced industrially by the fractional distillation of liquid air; the most volatile fraction is composed of a mixture of helium, neon, and nitrogen. Nitrogen is removed by condensation under increased pressure and reduced temperature, followed by adsorption on highly cooled charcoal. Neon is separated from helium by selective adsorption on activated charcoal at low temperatures. Processing 88,000 kg of liquid air will produce one kg of neon. Question Asked By:

Name: nikita luke

Age Group: 13 to 20

Occupation Type: Student

Education Level: Under Graduate