The first neon sign was made by
Georges Claude in France in 1910. Neon, an inert gas, was discovered in 1898 by
the British scientists Sir William Ramsay and M. W. Travers. It is colourless,
odourless and tasteless and is widely distributed in nature. Neon is called an
inert gas because it is not affected by the usual chemical reactions.
In 1850 a German physicist,
Heinrich Gessler, demonstrated that a brilliant light is produced when
electricity is discharged through such a gas. Neon proved to be ideal for
advertising because of its unusually high electrical conductivity, its adaptibility,
its high luminosity and the brilliant colours obtainable by the addition of
other inert gases and mercury vapour.
But neon
light tubes do not give enough light for general illumination, and the colours that can be produced from it are not suitable for indoor lighting.
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