Neon | Chemistry

Bayside Secondary School, Belleville, Ontario, Canada

Neon, 10, Bayside Secondary School, Belleville ON

Neon: Neon was discovered in 1898 by Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers, who found that upon passing electricity through an unknown gas, a bright red light was produced. In homage to this event, both the symbol and the image of Ramsay and Morris are shown in orange and red. The pictures are drawn using one continuous line, and (hopefully) “glow” so the tile looks like one large neon sign. The blue snowflake and thermometer represent neon’s low melting point of -249°C while the “OPEN” sign is a common use of neon. Finally, the black background showcases the use of neon at night.

Original artwork was created by Anthony Curran, grade 9 student; contributions to summary provided by Meghan Bush, Anthony Curran and Maddie Pilon. Teacher: Sam Mohamdee, Bayside Secondary School, Belleville, Ontario, Canada

Atomic properties*

Name:

Neon

Symbol:

Ne

Atomic number:

10

Atomic mass:

20.1797 amu

Melting point:

-248.6°C

Boiling point:

-246.053°C

Density:

0.0008999 g/cm³

Electronegativity:

No data

# of Isotopes:

3

State:

Gas

Colour:

Colourless±

Classification:

Non-metallic±

* Haynes, W. M. (2011). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 91st edition: http://www.hbcponline.com/ Retrieved April 7, 2011

± Winter, M. (2010). Home of the Periodic Table. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Web Elements: http://www.webelements.com/