Neon
Symbol |
Name |
Atomic Number |
Atomic Weight |
Group Number |
Ne |
Neon |
20 |
20.180 |
18 |
Standard Sate: gas at 298K
Color: colorless
It is a very inert element. Neon forms an unstable hydrate. In a vacuum discharge tube, neon glows reddish orange. Of all the rare gases, the discharge of neon is the most intense at ordinary voltages and currents.
(NE), chemical element, inert gas of Group 0 (noble gases) of the
periodic table, used in electric signs and fluorescent lamps. Colourless,
odourless, tasteless, and lighter than air, neon gas occurs in minute
quantities in the Earth's atmosphere and trapped within the rocks of
the Earth's crust. Though neon is about 31/2 times as plentiful as
helium in the atmosphere, dry air contains only 0.0018 percent neon
by volume. This element is more abundant in the cosmos than on
Earth. Neon liquefies at -246.048 C (-411 F) and freezes at a
temperature only 21/2 lower. When under low pressure, it emits a
bright orange-red light if an electrical current is passed through it.
This property is utilized in neon signs (which first became familiar in
the 1920s), in some fluorescent and gaseous conduction lamps, and in
high-voltage testers.
Neon was discovered (1898) by the British chemists Sir William
Ramsay and Morris W. Travers as a component of the most volatile
fraction of liquefied crude argon obtained from air. It was
immediately recognized as a new element by its unique glow when
electrically stimulated. 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 pounds of liquid air will
produce one pound of neon. (See Ramsay, Sir William.)
No stable chemical compounds of neon have been observed.
Molecules of the element consist of single atoms. Natural neon is a
mixture of three stable isotopes: neon-20 (90.92 percent); neon-21
(0.26 percent); and neon-22 (8.82 percent). atomic number 10 atomic
weight 20.183 melting point -248.67 C (-415.5 F) boiling point
-246.048 C (-411 F) density (1 atm, 0 C) 0.89990 g/litre valence 0
electronic config. 2-8 or 1s22s22p6
"neon" Encyclop�dia Britannica Online.
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