How would we exist without neon?
Website design By BotEap.comNeon
All of us have seen the use of neon. On the other hand, what do we know about the element neon? What is? Where is it located? How do we get it into usable form? Website design By BotEap.comNeon is an element found in gaseous form. Neon is rare on Earth, however it is quite abundant in the universe. In fact, it ranks fifth among the most abundant elements in the universe. Earth has less due to neon’s light weight and its inherent chemical nature. Volcanic gas contains large amounts of neon. Website design By BotEap.comOur atmosphere contains some neon and it can be extracted using a method called absorption. In this method, air is supercooled to temperatures below 441 degrees F so that it becomes a liquid. When this is passed over carbon, the neon molecules stick to the carbon. If the temperature is raised, the neon can “evaporate” and be captured. Since air doesn’t contain as much neon, it takes 88,000 pounds of liquefied air to process to get one pound of neon. Website design By BotEap.comNeon is a first class conductor of electricity and for this reason and because it has an amazing ability to emit light that can be seen at great distances, its most frequent uses are in aircraft beacons, in lamps and in advertisements. Some pilots have reported seeing neon beacons twenty miles away when it was impossible for them to see other types of lights. The neon light can be seen through the fog. Website design By BotEap.comThere are two types of neon that are commonly used. One of them is incandescent discharge lamps, which are small in size and can operate at low voltage. Popular uses for these lamps are in circuit test equipment and power indicators. The other type works with a very high voltage and is widely used in advertising signs. Neon is used commercially as a popular refrigerant because it is less expensive than helium. In liquid form it is very expensive and difficult to obtain when used for testing. Website design By BotEap.comThe bright red signs we see are glass tubes shaped like letters or numbers and filled with neon gas. A few drops of mercury are added to the glass to produce a blue light on the signs. When all the air is removed from the glass tubes and they are filled with neon, a neon lamp is created. Sending an electrical current from the electrode at one end of the tube through the neon to a second electrode causes the gas to glow a deep red. Neon lamps, unlike incandescent lamps, do not have filaments since it is the gas that glows. It only takes a quarter of neon to light 200-300 feet of glass tubing. Website design By BotEap.comThis light hits a variety of light-emitting phosphorescent materials that are coated on the inside of the glass tube, thus producing various colors. To create a blue light, the glass is left transparent. For the creation of special color effects, xenon, krypton and helium gases are sometimes used. Website design By BotEap.comThere is a high demand for neon, particularly due to its wide use in advertising, in addition to a number of other beneficial uses. This makes neon production a highly profitable business for the most part. The danger with neon occurs when it is allowed to reach high concentrations. In such cases, it displaces oxygen in the lungs of humans, usually resulting in death. Website design By BotEap.comFor commercial purposes, neon is obtained from the air. For industrial use, neon is produced by fractional distillation of liquid air through the cryogenic method. It is colorless, odorless and tasteless. Pure neon costs $33. per 100 grams. Neon, due to its many useful benefits, has become a part of American life. It is unfortunate that it is only available in small quantities as the demand for neon is very high. Website design By BotEap.comWithout neon there would be no neon signs which would harm the public and businesses alike. Since most of the use of neon is for neon signs that generate revenue for businesses and save time and money for the buyer, its absence would be detrimental to both parties. In fact, there are many other valuable uses for neon that are not well known to the public. The use of neon in wave-metering tubes, television tubes, and helium-neon lasers would be lost. Also, its use in certain refrigeration applications in place of the more expensive liquid helium would be lost.
All of us have seen the use of neon. On the other hand, what do we know about the element neon? What is? Where is it located? How do we get it into usable form? Website design By BotEap.comNeon is an element found in gaseous form. Neon is rare on Earth, however it is quite abundant in the universe. In fact, it ranks fifth among the most abundant elements in the universe. Earth has less due to neon’s light weight and its inherent chemical nature. Volcanic gas contains large amounts of neon. Website design By BotEap.comOur atmosphere contains some neon and it can be extracted using a method called absorption. In this method, air is supercooled to temperatures below 441 degrees F so that it becomes a liquid. When this is passed over carbon, the neon molecules stick to the carbon. If the temperature is raised, the neon can “evaporate” and be captured. Since air doesn’t contain as much neon, it takes 88,000 pounds of liquefied air to process to get one pound of neon. Website design By BotEap.comNeon is a first class conductor of electricity and for this reason and because it has an amazing ability to emit light that can be seen at great distances, its most frequent uses are in aircraft beacons, in lamps and in advertisements. Some pilots have reported seeing neon beacons twenty miles away when it was impossible for them to see other types of lights. The neon light can be seen through the fog. Website design By BotEap.comThere are two types of neon that are commonly used. One of them is incandescent discharge lamps, which are small in size and can operate at low voltage. Popular uses for these lamps are in circuit test equipment and power indicators. The other type works with a very high voltage and is widely used in advertising signs. Neon is used commercially as a popular refrigerant because it is less expensive than helium. In liquid form it is very expensive and difficult to obtain when used for testing. Website design By BotEap.comThe bright red signs we see are glass tubes shaped like letters or numbers and filled with neon gas. A few drops of mercury are added to the glass to produce a blue light on the signs. When all the air is removed from the glass tubes and they are filled with neon, a neon lamp is created. Sending an electrical current from the electrode at one end of the tube through the neon to a second electrode causes the gas to glow a deep red. Neon lamps, unlike incandescent lamps, do not have filaments since it is the gas that glows. It only takes a quarter of neon to light 200-300 feet of glass tubing. Website design By BotEap.comThis light hits a variety of light-emitting phosphorescent materials that are coated on the inside of the glass tube, thus producing various colors. To create a blue light, the glass is left transparent. For the creation of special color effects, xenon, krypton and helium gases are sometimes used. Website design By BotEap.comThere is a high demand for neon, particularly due to its wide use in advertising, in addition to a number of other beneficial uses. This makes neon production a highly profitable business for the most part. The danger with neon occurs when it is allowed to reach high concentrations. In such cases, it displaces oxygen in the lungs of humans, usually resulting in death. Website design By BotEap.comFor commercial purposes, neon is obtained from the air. For industrial use, neon is produced by fractional distillation of liquid air through the cryogenic method. It is colorless, odorless and tasteless. Pure neon costs $33. per 100 grams. Neon, due to its many useful benefits, has become a part of American life. It is unfortunate that it is only available in small quantities as the demand for neon is very high. Website design By BotEap.comWithout neon there would be no neon signs which would harm the public and businesses alike. Since most of the use of neon is for neon signs that generate revenue for businesses and save time and money for the buyer, its absence would be detrimental to both parties. In fact, there are many other valuable uses for neon that are not well known to the public. The use of neon in wave-metering tubes, television tubes, and helium-neon lasers would be lost. Also, its use in certain refrigeration applications in place of the more expensive liquid helium would be lost.