Neon was discovered by British chemists William Ramsay and Morris Travers in 1898 through a process of cooling air until it liquefied and then collecting the gases that boiled off as the temperature gradually increased.
The Discovery Process: Liquefaction and Fractional Distillation
Ramsay and Travers were investigating the composition of air, specifically looking for other noble gases besides argon and helium, which had already been discovered. Their method involved:
- Liquefaction of Air: The air was cooled to a very low temperature until it turned into a liquid.
- Fractional Distillation: The liquid air was then slowly warmed. As the temperature rose, different components of the air boiled off at different temperatures. These individual gases were collected.
- Identification of Neon: One of the gases collected during this process exhibited a brilliant red glow when an electrical current was passed through it. This gas was identified as a new element and named neon, derived from the Greek word "neos" meaning "new."
Other Noble Gases Discovered Simultaneously
It's important to note that Ramsay and Travers also discovered other noble gases, Krypton and Xenon, during this same series of experiments. This highlights the significance of their liquefaction and fractional distillation method for isolating rare gases from air.
In summary, neon wasn't "invented" in the traditional sense, but rather discovered through a scientific process of liquefying air and separating its components based on their boiling points.
