NANJING GRADE 6 SCIENCE EXEMPLAR!
2013
!
NOVEMBER 26,
THE ELEMENTAL
NEON DISCOVERED!!
NEON LIGHTS UP CITIES
Neon the 10th element on the periodic table is lighting us up!!
Neon lights are lighting up cities all
over Asia. Businesses in cities are
competing against other business to
try and make money. Businesses
need a way to grab consumers
attention and Neon Lights can
provide a beautiful and colorful
solution to all of the needs of
businesses.
Neon Lighting up Shanghai’s
bund at night
(From http://favim.com)
Neon as an element was
discovered in 1898 by William
Ramsey and Morris Travers. It is
element number 10 on the
periodic table meaning it has 10
protons. Neon is part of a
chemical family called Noble or
Inert Gases because it is
completely non-reactive, which
means that it will not react with
any other substances in the
universe. This is because Neon
has a complete outer shell of 8
electrons. The diagram below
shows the chemical structure of
the Neon atom
world to advertise a variety of
things. Helium Neon Lasers are
used to make continuos beams
of light.
Neon is a colourless,
odorless gas that is lighter than
air and is not that common in
our atmosphere. Neon is one of
the most common elements in
the universe, but makes up on
0.0018% of our atmosphere.
Neon has an atomic mass of
20.18g, and freezes at -249ºC.
Liquid Neon is extremely cold
and can be used to freeze things
very suddenly in a science called
Cryogenics.
Neon:
Protons: 10
Neutrons: 10
Electrons: 10
(From www.sciencelearn.or.nz)
Nucleus
Electron Shells
It is this structure that
allows Neon to remain unreactive. Neon is still useful to
human beings though. Neon
Lights are used all over the
The above diagram shows
the atomic symbol for neon and
the typical orange color of it’s
gas when hit with a charge.
DID YOU KNOW?
Neon is in the same family
as Helium, the gas that
makes balloons float!
Liquid Neon is used to
freeze things cryogenically
like parts of creatures!
If there is too much
Neon Gas around it can get
in the way of oxygen and
cause people to suffocate!!
!
So how do Neon Lights actually
work? When an electric charge is
placed on a tube filled with low
pressure Neon Gas it produces an
orange glow. If the light tube is any
other color than orange the gas is
not Neon. The charge that the
electricity brings activates protons
and electrons with energy. This
energy causes the particles inside to
produce the glow.
(from www.ustr.net)
The diagram above shows the set up
of a flourescent bulb which is similar
to a Neon light except that the
particles inside are of different
elements (Phosphorous and Mercury
Vapor).
But are these lights really effective?
A business can purchase a Neon sign
for a little as $99. Such a sign can be
used for 24 hours a day to help your
business tell people what you sell or
what service you provide. The light
inside makes them much more
visible than a normal painted sign.
Neon Lights are much more efficient
than regular incandescent lightbulbs
because they produce a lot less heat.
However, Neon signs are expensive
to maintain and often wear out when
the neon gas begins to break down.
Also, Neon is not that commonly
Classified Ads:
Sports Shorts:
For Sale - Used Neon Signs - only
minor flickers and flutters, some
are even green and blue. Call
1-800-Neon-Sign
Neon Art Exhibition - March 25th
at Times Square.
Manchester United has decided to
change it’s team name to the
Neons and have bright orange
uniforms. The team feels it will
give them a more modern look
and allow them to attract players
from other countries.
PAGE 1
found in nature making other
sources of this kind of light
(Phosphorous for example) much
more useful. Newer technologies like
Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s) have
made Neon Lights less effective.
Neon lights have an impact on our
environment. Neon itself is a nonreactive gas so it cannot pollute the
environment in anyway, but the
other components of Neon lights
including the wires and glass make
garbage when the lights wear out and
are thrown away. Some people feel
that Neon Lights are ruining our
visual environment, even preventing
us from seeing the beauty of the
stars in the night sky.
Culturally speaking, Neon Lights can
be seen as both positive and
negative. Neon Art has become a
rather new and useful form of
modern art and can be quite
beautiful. Forms of expression like
art help us to make our cultures
richer. On the other hand, Neon
signs can overwhelm the culture and
heritage of some of our oldest cities
through taking away from traditional
architecture and historical sights.
Also, Neon can be used to advertise
places where people do things that
are not good for them and even can
have negative impacts on society.
Neon has an impact on culture.
Overall, Neon Lights are an
interesting application of science
that is used in many ways both
positively and negatively.
Weather Today:
high 25ºC
NANJING GRADE 6 SCIENCE EXEMPLAR!
2013
!
REFERENCE LIST:
Is a Neon Sign A Good Investment (2009) Allaboutneonsigns.com retrieved from http://
www.allaboutneonsigns.com/.
Neon Lamp (2013) Wikipedia.com Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_lamp.
Neon-Ne (n.d) Lenntech.com Retrieved from http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/ne.htm
Malone, L. (2008) Cleaning up the City Scape Retrieved from http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?
id=7f8b01b6-6cd3-44a2-a317-836f41f0259c.
Schiff, Eric (2001) How Do Neon Lights Work? Retrieved from:http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?
id=how-do-neon-lights-work.
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NOVEMBER 26,