Have you been out on a Friday night at a bustling street with neon lights? Those places exude a lively atmosphere with a nostalgic charm. An alley with dazzling neon lights sounds exciting, but it was not always that way. Can you imagine Las Vegas without all the crimson and green lights? If we go back to the last century, there were just streetlamps and signboards in the night sky.
It was Georges Claude who trapped these beautiful lights from the air into glass tubes. He bent them and turned them into the best custom neon signs that are so popular now. Almost magical, right?
Discovery of the Noble Gases
It all started in the 1890s when Sir William Ramsay, a Scottish chemist, identified four of the noble gases, which were Neon, Argon, Krypton, and Xenon. These rare gases are known for their unwillingness to bond with the other elements of the family. Hence the name, Noble gases were endowed upon them.
Potpourri of Colors
This aristocratic group of gases is really rare in the atmosphere. Each of these gases produces a distinctive, colored glow when sealed in a glass tube and charged with high voltage. This laid the foundation for the discovery of neon lamps. Ramsay won the Nobel Prize for his research and the discovery of the Noble Gases.
Georges Claude
Although the process of liquefying air was started by Ramsay, other inventors too made their contributions. Georges Claude ramped up his technique and was able to produce as much as 10,000 cubic meters per day. In 1902, he established a company called L’Air Liquide that grew exponentially over the years.
Claude employed a Geissler Tube to experiment with the neon gases. He created a lamp by supplying a sealed tube with an electrical discharge. However, the result was not something like what we see today. Initially, the neon lighting was very crimson and shined too bright. It could not have been used for a practical purpose. He refined his work for years and worked on producing light in other colors.
He exhibited his first light in public on December 11, 1910, in Paris. Claude knew he was onto something, and so he got the neon lighting tube patented on January 15, 1915. He sold his first sign for commercial purposes in 1923 to an auto dealer in Los Angeles. The sign was called ‘Packard’ and was sold for $24,000.
Gaining Popularity
After the deal with the auto dealer, neon signs in UK became unstoppable. The sensational quality attracted people, and they soon became a popular medium of outdoor advertising. Claude formed a company called Claude Neon and opened several franchises all across the world.
Neon lights became synonymous with the modern age and development. They were perfected over time, and with commercial popularity, people started getting custom neon signs.
Today they probably remind you of your favourite ramen shop or a fun night out. People still use them to entice customers and augment the aesthetic of their restaurant or store.