Neon, derived from the Greek word neos, meaning new, is slightly more abundant than helium in the air. It constitutes around 18 parts per million in the atmosphere. It has an atomic mass of 20.179 and has an atomic radius of 0.51 Angstrom.

The British chemist, Sir William Ramsay separated neon in 1898 from other inert gases.

Neon is a monatomic gas that has a cubic-faced centred structure. It emits a reddish orange colour in a vacuum tube. It has a melting point of 24.553K and a boiling point of 27.096K.

Neon is primarily used in lamps for advertising signs and in airport lighting as it penetrates fog well. It is also used as a cryogenic refrigerant. It is over 40 times more efficient than helium as a refrigerant due to having a larger refrigerating capacity per unit volume.

Neon can be obtained by the liquification of air and separated from other elements by fractional distillation. Neon has been made to form a number of compounds with other elements. In particular it has been found to combine with fluorine.

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