Synonymous to nightlife, neon is probably among the fabulous findings by mankind. It was first discovered in 1898 by the British physical chemist Sir William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers while they were conducting one of their experiments on the principles of electrical discharge by using glass tubes. Neon is an inert gas that is colorless and odorless. Ramsay and Travers both named it neon - after the Greek word meaning "new".
It was much later in 1910 that neon signs made its' debut at the Paris Expo. It was a neon sign of two 38-foot long tubes. Georges Claude was the one who found that by filling a tube with neon gas will caused electrical discharge to occur. The tube glowed of deep red. The neon must be purified of any other gases in order for the electrical discharge to permeate it and pass through the tube. In other words, the tube has to be vacuumed of any other gasses. Purification is accomplished by the use of charcoal which, when cooled to -180 to -190 degrees Centigrade, absorbs impurities in the tube and is subsequently removed.
Now and then, neon signs have been widely used in advertising and commercial application. Neon lightings were quickly recognized in the early twentieth century, and soon other vapors besides neon were used such as Argon, Helium, Xenon and Krypton. Besides that, other color pigments can also be embedded to the glass tube's walls to produce lightings of other colors. Neon in its' natural state is harmless to human beings. Neither is it poisonous or explosive like some other gasses, which is mainly the reason why, it is widely used by in advertising.
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Neon signs can now be expressed in many artistic forms. It is not as dull as it used to be. There are more colors and designs to it. One of the reason neon signs are famous for advertising is because it is durable and cost saving, besides giving more variety in terms of colors. Other than that, neon signs have been used as general illumination in big cities as well as various decorations. There is even a museum made for neon signs' arts located in Los Angeles where many of it is preserved and collected.
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This is a picture of a wall decoration of neon signs. Perhaps it is only a part of a bigger abstract picture.
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This is one of the examples of creativity. Strips on neon tubes are arrange and installed around the bicycle's wheels to give out an astounding effect when the bicycle is used, giving such a brilliant spin at night!
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This is another neon signs' art, produced by Robert Randazzo. The artwork location is at fifth & Copper NW, specifically at the parking lot structure 265. Neon signs have become an eye candy that people put up everyone. Other interesting application is the neon lamps that you can put on the walls of your house.
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This piece of art is called the urban cowboy. I personally think it is a nice, simple and attractive piece of art. As you can see, the picture uses some of the most basic colors of neon signs, which are white, and blue. Both color uses argon gas in the glass tubes, with one of it coated with white pigmentation at the inner wall of the tube.
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This is a picture of a favorite play at amusement park - the bumper car…only that the car and the place itself are all highlighted with neon signs! Matching with fluorescent T-shirts wore by the people, it sure is an eye catch.
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Neon lights sure stands out at night, it definitely looks brighter and more beautiful in the dark. This neon sign is used as one of the many advertising symbol at diners, bars and restaurants as such.
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Great style for some serious drifting. Neon lights are even used at cars to give a more stylish impact debuts.
So, there you go some historical data and facts of neon signs that over time turned to be one of the creative arts ever produced. There are in fact, many more uses of neon signs and there are definitely more forms of artistic expression using neon lights. However, best of all the information is that neon lights are absolutely harmless to human beings that you can actually go and get that neon lamp without giving many thoughts to it.
