Chemistry from Hydrogen to Tellurium - NEON

Neon


Week 10 and it is the turn of the tenth element on the table. This element is called Neon and given the chemical symbol Ne. It has 10 electrons in total, 2 filling the inner shell and the other 8 filling the outer electron shell. This full electron shell makes Neon very stable and un-reactive. Because of the un-reactive nature of elements with full outer shells they are in a family called inert gases or noble gases. If you look INERT up in the thesaurus the synonyms will give you a good idea of the behaviour of Neon and its other family members.


Neon atoms exist on their own and are caller monoatomic. These atoms are small and lighter than air. This means that a balloon filled with Neon, like a helium filled balloon, would float in air. Neon is fairly rare on earth but is the fifth most abundant element in the universe.


Neon is well known for its use in signs. When the Neon gas, which is normally colourless is electrified it gives a characteristic red/orange glow. 

Tubes, containing Neon gas which can be electrified, are moulded into shapes and used in high streets to advertise various products. Though these types of lights are all called Neon lights, no matter what colour they are, however, only the red ones actually contain Neon. The purple light in this image contains another gas from the inert gas family called Xenon.