When and Where Was Neon Discovered? 1898 Date & Location

Neon was discovered in 1898 by British chemists Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers in London, England, at University College London. The discovery happened on June 7, 1898.

How the Discovery Happened

Ramsay and Travers had already discovered argon in 1894 and helium in 1895. They knew other noble gases likely existed. To find them, they liquefied air and then slowly boiled it, collecting the gases that came off at different temperatures. In a sample of argon, they detected a new gas that gave off a bright red light when an electric current passed through it. They named it neon, from the Greek word “neos,” meaning new Royal Society of Chemistry.

A quick example of how this works: liquid air is a mixture of gases. As it warms, gases boil off at their specific boiling points. Neon boils at -246 degrees Celsius. By controlling the temperature, Ramsay and Travers could collect the fraction that contained mostly neon.

Key Takeaways

• Neon was discovered on June 7, 1898, in London, England.
• The discoverers were British chemists William Ramsay and Morris Travers at University College London.
• They isolated neon by slowly boiling liquid air and collecting the gas that came off between the boiling points of helium and argon.
• The name neon comes from the Greek word “neos,” meaning new, chosen because the gas was new to science.