Colorful and glittering on the commercial signs or whiteness in our kitchen or our old classrooms, the neon tubes take many different forms in so many colors. But in fact, how does it work?
Invented at the beginning of the 20th century, neon lights now illuminate all the major cities of the world. And not only. Your rooms can also shelter some, and some tuned cars can also fly … But how does it work, a neon? The illuminated signs are made by folding glass tubes, to give birth to different letters or forms. These tubes are then filled with an inert gas such as argon or neon gas. Once your small lamps are installed where you want, when you press the switch, the electric current then touches some electrodes in the glass tubes, thus circulating the electrons through the gas and allowing the gas atoms inside the neon to produce this famous warm glow.
They are sometimes red, sometimes green … Some prefer when they give off blue light, others lean towards a pink or yellow light … In short, the neon lights can be of any color! It is the type of glass and the kind of gas that influences the glow of neon lights. For example, argon gas in a clear glass tube will give a blue neon. To obtain a red light, it will instead place neon gas in a clear glass tube. Thanks to these two gases and with only two types of glasses (colored by fluorescent powder), more than 80 colors can be produced. That’s it; you know everything! Speaking of neon, it would not be time to run to buy NEON # 31 on newsstands for a few days?
Chemical links between atoms
The chemical bonds between the atoms of the elements are made in close relation to the number of electrons they have in the last orbit. This quantity of electrons determines the number of valence or oxidation with which the atoms carry out chemical bonds.
Valencia band
The valence band is called the last energy level or orbit farthest from the nucleus of the atom, where the chemical combinations are made. The valence band allows electrons that rotate in the previous orbit to pass from one bit to another, depending on their “valence number” or “oxidation number,” which can be positive (+), or negative (- ), according to the specific properties of each element in question. Thus, depending on the electronegativity or tendency of the atom of a molecule to attract electrons according to its atomic number or valence, positive or negative ions are formed.
The following table presents some chemical elements with their respective atomic number, number, or oxidation numbers or valences and the number of electrons they have at each energy level. As you can see, the Neon (Ne) does not have a valence number, as this is a noble or inert gas. All gases of this type contain the maximum number of electrons possible in the last energy level, that is, eight, so none of them react chemically with other elements. In addition to Neon, among inert gases are also helium (He), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe), and radon (Rn).
Element | Chemical symbol | Atomic number | Oxidation or valence number | Number of electrons per energy level |
Hydrogen | H | one | +1, -1 | one |
Oxygen | OR | 8 | -two | 2 – 6 |
Neon | Ne | 10 | Does not have | 2 – 8 |
Sodium | Na | eleven | +1 | 2 – 8 – 1 |
Silicon | Yes | 14 | -4, +2, +4 | 2 – 8 – 4 |
Chlorine | Cl | 17 | -1, +1, +3, +5, +7 | 2 – 8 – 7 |
Iron | Faith | 26 | +2, +3 | 2 – 8 – 14 – 2 |
Copper | Cu | 29 | +1, +2 | 2 – 8 – 18 – 1 |
Silver | Ag | 47 | +1 | 2 – 8 – 18 – 18 – 1 |
Gold | Au | 79 | +1, +3 | 2 – 8 – 18 – 32 – 18 – 1 |
Different types of links
The different types of chemical bonds that occur between atoms of simple elements are the following:
Ionic or electrovalent bond
Covalent bond
Metallic link
Ionic or electrovalent bond. Due to the force of attraction that is exerted between the ions with charges of opposite sign (positive and negative), ionic or electrovalent bonds originate, which gives rise to the creation of molecules of chemical compound elements. For example, charges of harmful ion chlorine (Cl-) or anion and a positive ion (Na+) or a cation, attract each other to give rise to the formation of one molecule of sodium chloride, known as common salt (NaCl).
Electrovalent or ionic bond between . a chlorine ion (Cl – ) and a sodium ion . (Na + ).
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