Neon History and Origin

The name for the element Neon is derived from the Greek word for new, “neos”.  Since neon and the other noble gases are highly unreactive and only found in trace amounts in the atmosphere, they were not discovered until the late nineteenth century. Neon was discovered in 1898 by English chemists Sir William Ramsay and Morris M. Travers, along with Krypton and Xenon. They accomplished the isolation of these inert gases by fractional distillation of air. Through a two step process of condensation then evaporation, they were able to trap other components of the air. Initially, the group 18 elements were considered to be inert gases, as they were highly unreactive with any other element. However, in 1962 compounds of Xenon and Krypton compounds were synthesized with Fluorine, disproving their inert quality. Therefore, these elements were renamed the noble gases.