A Brief History of Neon Lights:
The word Neon comes from the Greek "neos," meaning "The New Gas."
Old Neon signs are most often neon or argon gas in a vacuum tube; the
smaller the diameter of the tube, the more intense the light produced and
the higher the voltage required to illuminate the neon light. The neon sign
is attributed to Georges Claude who popularized it in Paris in 19l0 and
neon lights were then brought to America in 1923.
Although there are now more than 150 neon colors possible by combining
different gases like Krypton, xenon and helium, two favorites remain -- a
fiery orange-red neon gas called Ruby Red and a soft lavender argon gas
that turns a brilliant blue when enhanced with a drop or two of mercury.
Another blue - Bromo Blue - named from the popular deep blue Bromo-Seltzer
bottle, is a glass color made from Cobalt.
In the early years neon signs captivated the public and it wasn't long before
neon was everywhere. Technology created even more colors and by the 50's pink
and turquoise started to cover the new drive-ins and diners, matching girl's
felt poodle skirts and boy's ruffled tuxedo shirts for Prom night. By the 60's
bright plastic signs began to appear and neon's blazing lights, suddenly
considered tacky, faded across the nation. During the next ten years neon
sign making almost became a lost art, but in the early 70's a new breed of
neon craftspeople emerged; these artisans expanded the realm of neon from
advertising signs into the world of art.
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