Neon (Ne)
"The City-Light, a flashy hero who stands out in any crowd with a brilliant, glowing personality."
A memorable persona to anchor Ne in your mind.
0.9
Grams per cm³
-248.59
Celsius (°C)
154
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
The bright, glowing signs on city streets.
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1898
Discovered By
William Ramsay & Morris Travers
Origin of Name
"The name comes from the Greek ''neos'', meaning new."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
20.18 u
Standard State
gas
Boiling Point
-246.046°C
Electron Configuration
[He] 2s22p6
1st Ionization Energy
21.565 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"A colorless, odorless, tasteless inert gas that glows reddish-orange in a vacuum tube."
Did You Know?
Despite being famous for "neon signs," pure neon only produces a reddish-orange light; other gases are used to create the different colors.
Neon is the fifth most abundant element in the universe but is very rare on Earth because it's light and chemically inert, so it easily escapes into space.
It is the least reactive of all the noble gases and does not form any known stable compounds with other elements.
The name Neon comes from the Greek word 'neos', meaning 'new'.