neon

neon is a chemical element with the atomic number 10 and the atomic mass of 20.1797, discovered by William Ramsay and Morris Travers in 1898 at University College London. It is a member of the Noble gases, which also includes Helium, Argon, Krypton, Xenon, and Radon. The discovery of neon was a significant milestone in the field of Chemistry, as it helped to complete the Periodic table and shed light on the properties of the Noble gases, which are also studied by Marie Curie at the Sorbonne University and Ernest Rutherford at the University of Cambridge.

Properties

The physical properties of neon include its boiling point of 27.1 K and its melting point of 24.56 K, making it one of the coldest substances known, studied by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes at the University of Leiden and Ludwig Boltzmann at the University of Vienna. Neon is a monatomic gas, meaning that it exists as single atoms rather than molecules, and it is a very stable element, as noted by Dmitri Mendeleev at the University of Saint Petersburg and Glenn Seaborg at the University of California, Berkeley. The electron configuration of neon is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶, which is the same as the Noble gas configuration, also studied by Niels Bohr at the University of Copenhagen and Louis de Broglie at the Sorbonne University. This configuration makes neon very unreactive, as it has a full outer energy level, similar to Argon and Krypton, which are also studied by Henry Moseley at the University of Oxford and Ernest Lawrence at the University of California, Berkeley.

History

The discovery of neon is attributed to William Ramsay and Morris Travers, who isolated the element in 1898 at University College London, using a technique developed by Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution and Michael Faraday at the Royal Institution. They discovered neon by fractional distillation of liquid air, which was a technique developed by Carl von Linde at the University of Munich and William Thomson at the University of Glasgow. The name neon comes from the Greek word "neon", meaning "new", as noted by Theodore Gray at the Wolfram Research and Oliver Sacks at the Columbia University. The discovery of neon was a significant milestone in the field of Chemistry, as it helped to complete the Periodic table and shed light on the properties of the Noble gases, which are also studied by Marie Curie at the Sorbonne University and Ernest Rutherford at the University of Cambridge.

Occurrence and production

Neon is a rare element in the Earth's atmosphere, making up about 0.0018% of the atmosphere by volume, as measured by Charles Keeling at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Roger Revelle at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It is also found in small amounts in minerals such as Beryl and Spodumene, which are mined by De Beers at the Jwaneng mine and Rio Tinto Group at the Argyle diamond mine. The majority of neon is produced by fractional distillation of liquid air, which is a technique developed by Carl von Linde at the University of Munich and William Thomson at the University of Glasgow. This process involves cooling the air to a very low temperature, causing the different components to separate and allowing the neon to be isolated, as noted by Linde AG at the Linde AG and Air Liquide at the Air Liquide.

Applications

Neon has a number of applications, including its use in neon signs, which are made by General Electric at the General Electric and Osram at the Osram. These signs use electric discharge to excite the neon atoms, causing them to emit light, as studied by Nikola Tesla at the Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing and George Westinghouse at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Neon is also used in plasma TVs, which are manufactured by Samsung Electronics at the Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics at the LG Electronics. Additionally, neon is used in laser technology, which is developed by IBM at the IBM and Bell Labs at the Bell Labs, and in cryogenics, which is studied by Richard Feynman at the California Institute of Technology and Murray Gell-Mann at the California Institute of Technology.

Compounds

Neon is a very unreactive element, and as such, it does not form many compounds. However, it does form a few compounds with other elements, such as Fluorine and Oxygen, which are studied by Linus Pauling at the California Institute of Technology and Gilbert Newton Lewis at the University of California, Berkeley. One example of a neon compound is neon fluoride (NeF₂), which is a white solid that is highly reactive, as noted by Alfred Nobel at the Nobel Foundation and Emilio Segrè at the University of California, Berkeley. Another example is neon oxide (NeO), which is a colorless gas that is highly unstable, as studied by Harold Urey at the University of Chicago and Fritz Haber at the University of Berlin.

Biological role and precautions

Neon is not toxic and does not have any known biological role, as noted by Alexander Fleming at the St Mary's Hospital, London and Selman Waksman at the Rutgers University. However, it can be hazardous if inhaled in large quantities, as it can cause asphyxiation by displacing Oxygen in the lungs, as warned by OSHA at the OSHA and NIOSH at the NIOSH. Additionally, neon is a cryogenic fluid, and as such, it can cause frostbite and other cold-related injuries if not handled properly, as cautioned by NASA at the NASA and European Space Agency at the European Space Agency. It is also important to note that neon is a Noble gas, and as such, it does not react with other elements, making it safe to handle in most situations, as noted by Royal Society at the Royal Society and National Academy of Sciences at the National Academy of Sciences. Category:Chemical elements