Neon

neon

a colourless odourless rare gaseous element, an inert gas occurring in trace amounts in the atmosphere: used in illuminated signs and lights. Symbol: Ne; atomic no.: 10; atomic wt.: 20.1797; valency: 0; density: 0.899 90 kg/m³; melting pt.: --248.59?C; boiling pt.: --246.08?C

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

neon

[′nē‚än]

(chemistry)

A gaseous element, symbol Ne, atomic number 10, atomic weight 20.179; a member of the family of noble gases in the zero group of the periodic table.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

neon

An inert gas which produces a reddish orange glow when used in an electric discharge lamp.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neon

Charles Duff. An object-oriented extension of FORTH, for the Mac. Inheritance, SANE floating-point, system classes and objects for Mac interfacing, overlays. Sold by Kriya Systems, 1985-1988. Modified, made PD and renamed Yerk.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Neon

 

(Latin, neonum), Ne, a chemical element of Group VIII in the Mendeleev periodic system. An inert gas: atomic number, 10; atomic weight, 20.179. On earth it is found mainly in the atmosphere, which is estimated to contain 7.1 × 10¹¹ tons of neon. The neon content of air is about 16 cm³/m³. Atmospheric neon is a mixture of three stable isotopes—²⁰Ne, ²¹Ne, and ²²Ne; the first isotope predominates (90.92 percent). Neon was discovered in 1898 by the British scientists W. Ramsay and M. Travers during their study of the highly volatile fraction of liquid air. The name “neon” is derived from the Greek neos, “new.”

Under ordinary conditions, neon is a colorless, odorless gas. At 0°C and 760 mm of mercury (101 kilonewtons per sq m), the density of neon is 0.900 g/l; melting point, —248.6°C; boiling point, -245.9°C (at 101 KN/m²); solubility in water, 10.4 ml/l. Solid neon has a cubic crystal lattice; the lattice constant a of the unit cell is 4.52 angstroms at —253°C. The neon molecule is monatomic; the outer electron shell of the neon atom contains eight electrons and is highly stable. Neon compounds have not yet been synthesized.

Neon is produced by the fractionation of air. Its largest single use is in electrical engineering. Neon-filled lamps emitting red light are used at harbors, airports, and other locations. Liquid neon is coming to be used in the production of low temperatures.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.