A Brief History Of Neon

Neon gets its name from the Greek word “Neos”, meaning “new”. It is the Universe’s most abundant element; but only 0.0018% of the atmosphere of the Earth is made up of it. Not only is it odourless and colourless, it doesn’t compound with any other elements. It was first isolated in 1898 by chemists Sir William Ramsey and Morris Travers; starting with liquid argon, which was evaporated to create krypton, (but you can learn more about the science behind the signs here, we aren’t here to talk about that today).

Georges Claude

Neon signs were then developed by French engineer Georges Claude in 1902, and patented by 1910; he created light by applying electricity to neon or argon in a sealed glass tube, furthering the work of the scientists by discovering that adding different elements to the tube can create different colours. The first ever neon light was two neon-tube lamps created by Claude in Paris in 1910. And the first advertising sign made by neon was for a hairdressing business in Paris, this sparked off something no one had ever seen before – utilising this new light form as signage for businesses. Read about neon signs for salons