Since neon gas is considered a non conductor of electricity, how does a neon sign work?
87397
As I understand it-- the electricity agitates the electrons of the gas- the color is from the color the maker coats the inside of the tube with.
893341
well if i am not wrong.. they work on the principle of thermionic emission... \n\nnow wat happens is ... at the cathode end ( negatively charged) there is a metal bit.. called emitter  and at the anode end( positive terminal) another metal called the receiver. the tube is vacuated and filled with gas, in this case a halogen vapour. \n\nwat happens is when a potential is applied, when we switch it on, the cathode emits electrons.\nthese electrons pass thru the vapours and ionise them. when ionised these gases emit energy in the form of light..\n\nthis is the explanation in the most condensed form... equations make it complicated for understanding... \n\nhope i did justice to ur query
341077
I believe they are refering to sheet lightning that never touches the ground. In the tropics it can be extremely brilliant lighting up the sky like a neon glow.
1028768
Simply put, it's not a conductor. \n\nhttp://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/JCEsoft/CCA/CCA1/MVHTM/R0540/S567.HTM
766145
It depends on how far away from the noble gases they are. Like anything in gourp IA would be 1+, IIA 2+ etc, then when theyre closer to the right then its like VIIA 1-, VIA 2-\n\nTransition metals are different because they form multiple ions. It would indicate what the charge is.
929154
copper can't produce electricity. it conducts electricity
216320
Metal does not return radiation back to the magnetron. The problem is that the metal, being highly conductive, acts as an antenna element, and thus builds up electric charge. This is less of a problem with non-pointed objects, as those are the objects that can cause dangerous sparks as the charge is greater at the points. \nAlso, since the metal is acting as a resistor, it is building up a lot of heat, which is dangerous to non-metallic objects that may be in contact with it. \nSee the article below for more information.
55361
In flourescent lights electricity passes through a gas (i.e Neon)to create the light. This is much more efficient as very little heat is produced. Unlike incadescent ones,which create a lot of heat.
811629
well since o2- has an extra 2 electrons it gives it 10 electrons total making it the same electron configuration as neon which is a noble gas....so the elec. config for o2- is [Ne]
742318
Just because Hydrogen is a gas doesn't mean it can't be a metal.\nIt is placed there because as said before it only has 1 outer electron, which is the characteristic trait of all alkali metals.\nIt would not be a noble gas because it is highly reactive, (Remember the Hindenburg explosion?) and noble gasses are highly non-reactive (Xenon, Krypton, and Radon have been known to form compounds with Fluorine though).\nHydrogen does have most properties of the metals though, for example in its liquid form it conducts electricty and heat very well, in its metallic form it shows metallic bonding of its electrons, and it also shows the same charges as metals (e,g; positive charges).\nSo technically Hydrogen is correctly placed in the alkali metals column.
961109
It's good to see people actually thinking about what the terms they're using mean, rather than just plugging them into equations.\n\nBasically, the place where you seem to be confused is here:\n\n"In gas such as water vapour, intermolecular forces of attraction is weak and hence it has low PE"\n\nActually, this means the exact opposite, that the system has very high potential energy. Think about gravity for a minute - if a rock placed at, say, 1 foot above the ground were to fall to Earth, it would not release very much energy. Conversely, if the rock were placed 1 mile above the Earth, it would release a considerable amount of energy. The higher the rock is, the greater it's potential energy. However, the further the rock is away from Earth, the weaker the force of gravity acting on it - thus weak gravitational attraction corresponds to higher potential energy. Similarly with the particles in a gas - if they were to "fall" into a partially bound state such as that of a liquid, they would release energy, and thus the unbound state where the particles are too far away from each other to form bonds is the higher energy state.\n\nThis is not to say that a weaker force always corresponds to a higher energy state - if the reason that the force is weaker is that there is less mass/charge/whatever producing it, that really will lower the potential energy. But in the transition from a liquid to a gas does not change the charge of any of the particles - the reduction in intermolecular forces comes from the fact that the particles are moving out of each other's electrical potential wells, a process which, just like lifting up a rock, raises the potential energy.
59404
A fluorescent light uses the glow discharge of an electrified gas for the illuminating element rather than an electrically heated glowing conductive filament.
68501
First off it is a gas. Second it has a fixed charge. It does not have multiple charges like a metal does.
763497
There is not one speed to electricity, there are two.\n\nThe electron drift rate, determined by the number of conductors, the applied, field, and the mean free path, and the field transfer rate aka the speed of light in the material.\n\nAll conductors have resistance - its like friction for electricity.  Even "superconductors" have it, thought its a lot less than in other conductors.  Just like a ball you roll eventually stops, so will electron motion.\n\nIf you had a superconducting power strip, and a very fast plugger, you could make it plug into itself and it would glow for a long time.  The light would make it glow for a lot less long of a time.  Thats all about initial current voltage, and internal resistance.
34241
After looking over the literature I have available, I can't come up with one.  None of the noble gases would, and other gases such as nitrogen are nonreactive as well.  That's why they state to run certain reactions in a nitrogen atmosphere.\n\nNoble gases are able to react with some materials, but they often contain halogens, which are highly reactive.  Check out the links to see some compounds of xenon and krypton.
738402
Attach a bare wire to each terminal and dip the ends of both in salty water. Bubbles will form near the wires as the electricity breaks the water and salt molecules into their constituent gaseous elements. \n\nBy the way, with salty water you will get hydrogen and chlorine, but not oxygen. The salt is needed to make the water conduct electricity, but it also prevents you from getting oxygen gas from the water. You can do this experiment without the salt, but you will need WAY more than 9 volts. In that case you would get oxygen.
39041
first of all, the experiment has not been done yet, we have not been able to reach absolute zero yet.  gases liquids and solids are properties of atoms and their compounds and have to do with intermolecular forces. in liquids and solids, the atoms are touching(solids they are stuck in place liquids they slide over each other) but regardless, 2 electrons(both being negatively charged) can never touch. that doesnt mean they are a gas, because these phases of matter do not apply to plain electrons. subatomic particles do not experience these phases or phase changes. At absolute zero(which hasnt been reached and thus is still theoretical), all matter would stop moving, so the electrons would stop moving and lose all kinetic energy.