You might have seen these types of lighted signs hanging outside of stores in your town. These are neon lights. They are named after one of the gases used to give them their glow.
Neon is a gas that is found in the air. When neon is placed in a tube and electricity is sent through it, it glows. Neon lights are made by filling glass tubes with different types of gases. Different gases produce different colors of light. Neon glows red. Helium glows pink. Krypton glows green. Argon glows blue or purple. And xenon glows blue.
To make neon lights, artists must use both art and science. They use combinations of different gases to create different colors. They use heat to bend the glass tubes into different shapes. They create signs and works of art.
Neon signs were found almost everywhere until the 1950s. That is when most were replaced with plastic. Neon signs were thought to be old-fashioned. But today, their unique, handmade look is growing in popularity again.
What Do You Think? How do neon signs attract customers?
Photo Credit: (t)Stefano Politi Markovina/Alamy Stock Photos, (b)grublee/Shutterstock
