Neon, along with fellow gases xenon and krypton, was discovered in 1898 by the British chemists Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers. Ramsey cooled a sample of air until it turned liquid and then warmed it up to capture the gases as they boiled off.
The first time the name of the gas was mentioned in print, was in the Proceedings of the Royal Society journal for science in 1898 just upon its discovery: “The density of this gas, which we [Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers] propose to name ‘neon’ (new) was next determined.”
The name of the newly discovered gas was proposed by the son of Ramsey, and it derives from the Greek novum, meaning “new”.
Neon is the second lightest noble gas after helium and the fifth most abundant chemical element on a universal level after hydrogen, helium, oxygen and carbon.
Although neon is a very common element in the universe and it takes a significant part in the process of cosmic nucleogenesis, it is, indeed, very rare on Earth due to its lightness and the warmth of the newly ignited Sun in the early Solar System which led to its escaping from our atmosphere.
Fluorescent lighting is widely used in urban advertising of pretty much everything, it has even found its place in art installations owing to the visually appealing vibrant hues. In popular culture, these signs are generally referred to as neon signs; but the truth is that only the reddish ones are actually containing the chemical element neon. The other colours are generated by other noble gasses.
One of the earliest records to refer to the industry of neon advertising, comes from 1934, from Neon: a handbook for electrical engineers, neon manufacturers, sign salesmen and advertisers: “Whilst the customer may want his name expressed in neon and surrounded by a border, it is up to the sign-man to supply it with ‘finish’.“
Other common usage of neon are the neon glow lamps, which are really tiny and operating at low voltage. They are the precursors of the plasma displays and plasma television screens.
The term neon is often used to refer to the hostility and social coldness of the urban wildness. With the common association of lonely and poor people on the background of the lights of a big city – be it lightning billboards or neon advertising signs of expensive brands. In 1947, the American novelist Nelson Algren published his The neon wilderness to coin the term to describe the inhospitality and the dangerous environment of the urban life.
