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What the name
means: The name Neon comes from the
Greek word neos, meaning new. It was
given its name because it was, at the time
of its identification, a new addition to
the existing list of noble gases.
Who identified
neon? Neon was identified by a
Scotsman, William Ramsay, in 1898. Ramsay
also named this new element. Ramsay and his
assistant, Morris Travers, had been
experimenting with liquid air. In the
process of their work they had already
identified krypton and xenon. Once the
position of these two gases in the periodic
table had been established, the existence
of neon was predicted and the two
scientists went on to isolate it.
About neon:
Neon gas is present in very small
quantities in the air. It is a monatomic
gas and only very rarely reacts with other
atoms. When electricity is passed through
it, it glows red-orange. This property of
neon is used in neon lighting. |
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