Neon

Description

An inert noble gas that was first discovered by William Ramsay and Morris Travers in 1898. Neon occurs naturally in the atmosphere at a concentration of 18.2 ppm. It has limited solubility in water and is found in seawater at a concentration of 1.5 tons per cubic mile. Neon is obtained commercially by the liquefaction, then distillation of air. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas. Neon is used in lasers and neon lights where it produces a reddish-orange glow. Vacuum electric discharge tubes used for advertisement signs are commonly, but incorrectly, called neon tubes although a variety of gases are required to produce the different colors.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Ne; néon (Fr., Port. ,Esp.); neo (It.)

Other Properties

Slightly soluble in water.

Composition	Ne (atomic no. 10)
CAS	7440-01-9
Melting Point	-248.6
Density	0.6964
Molecular Weight	atomic wt = 20.1797
Boiling Point	-245.92

Hazards and Safety

Noncombustible. An asphyxiant gas. Liquid may cause frostbite.

LINK: International Chemical Safety Card

Additional Information

Web Elements: Website

Sources Checked for Data in Record

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 6544

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Website address 1 Comment: Web Elements at http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Ne/hist.html