Neon lights were first invented in 1910, by a French chemist and engineer named Georges Claude.
This is the essence of the answer to the question: when was neon light invented?
But, neon lighting was not something that someone figured out in a moment of “Eureka!” It wasn’t an idea that dawned on a single individual in a split second, making them the sudden and sole recipient of all the credit.
Rather, the discovery of neon, the way it produced light, how the idea of electricity came into the equation, etc., was a process that involved many people and was carried out over a number of years.
In this post, we will take a step down memory lane and explore how neon lights came about for the first time and how they evolved to become an iconic sign of the 20th century.
The First Step in the Process | The Discovery of Neon
Neon was discovered only a little over 130 years ago, in 1898, by two British scientists: Morris Travers and William Ramsay.
Since it is present in very small amounts, neon isn’t the easiest of elements to capture. It requires air to go through a process known as liquefaction.
William Ramsay conducted an experiment where he condensed air to liquid form by subjecting it to a low, cold temperature. After that, the liquid was boiled. As the liquid boiled, it began to disperse different gases which were captured by Ramsay.
Up until this point in history, Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Argon had already been discovered. However, other than these three gases, there were two others that the scientists had not yet identified.
One of them was Krypton, and the other was Neon. They were separated and identified on the basis of the color they produced when under spectroscopic discharge. Neon created a bright red color.
This was the beginning of the process which ultimately led to neon lights as we know them today.
The Geissler Tube | An Important Inspiration for Neon Lights
Another important concept that shaped the creation of neon lights is the Geissler tube.
The Geissler tube was invented by a German glassblower and physicist named Heinrich Geissler. The purpose of the tube was to allow scientists to experiment with trapped gases to see their reaction under heat/electricity.
Later when neon lights were invented, they took inspiration from the concept of these tubes. Neon gas was trapped in a glass tube to which an electrical current was applied. This was similar to the function for which the Geissler tube was created.
The First Attempt at Neon Lighting – 1902
Four years after neon was discovered by the two German scientists, Claude started working on the neon light. He created a design that involved neon gas trapped in a glass tube. When current was applied to this sealed tube, neon gave a bright red color.
For the next eight years, Claude worked on improving and perfecting his design. Towards the end of the year 1910, he put up the very first finalized neon sign in Paris.
Since these lights were primarily experimented with neon, they gave off only a red light and were quite simple.
As time went by, more and more gases were experimented with, and they were seen to give off a different color when electrified. Some of them are listed below:
- Argon is used to create a bluish light by mixing it with mercury gas vapor
- Krypton is used to create white/grayish light
- Xenon is used to make a purplish glow
- Helium is used to create a pink-red glow
All of these gases are mixed and matched to create the desired shade.
The Progress of Neon Lighting Under Georges Claude
After the first display in Paris, Claude’s design went on to gain more and more popularity.
Here are some of the notable events that took place after the initial display that led to the popularity of these signs. They also pushed Claude into fame and success, as he created a company to create and sell these signs under the name of Claude Neon Lights.
Two years after the display in Paris, Claude created an advertising sign for a barbershop. In the year after that, he went big by creating a large sign for a company using 42-inch lettering.
Ten years after this, in 1923, Claude received a large order from a car dealership to create two advertising signs. These signs made Claude a lot of money, and they also pushed him into the spotlight. These signs started being used more and more until they became a ubiquitous icon of the late 20th-century era.
Who Invented Neon Lights? Info About Georges Claude
Georges Claude was much more than just the inventor of the neon lights. He was an engineer and a chemist par excellence. He made many other notable contributions to his fields, such as his work in the process of ammonia production.
Claude was born in 1870, 24th of September in Paris, France and he passed away at the age of 90 in 1960, in Saint-Cloud, France.
During World War 2, he was accused of working with the Germans in France. For this, he was imprisoned and stripped of his honors and accomplishments. He remained in prison for a period of 4 years.
The Modern Development and Standing of Neon Lights
Nowadays, the popularity of neon lights has declined considerably. Their popularity is a shadow of what it once was, and they are not used nearly as much. Although they haven’t completely gone away, they have changed from being the go-to signage choice for businesses to a vintage decoration piece.
There are many different alternatives that are now available for neon lights, such as:
- Faux neon signs: These signs utilize LED lights to create the same look and style as neon lights. However, they are usually made of plastic and acrylic, and they don’t really trap gas in a glass tube. They are simply bright lights, engineered to look like neon lights.
- Digital displays: Digital displays offer a ton of benefits over neon lights as far as business advertising goes. They can be used to advertise the business, show messages and important notices, and act like a giant TV for everyone to easily see.
When these options started surfacing, the utility of neon signs started ebbing away. Although they are still fondly coveted for their retro looks and unique, old-fashioned vibes, they are no longer the heart of business advertising and signage.
What Made Neon Lights Grow Less Popular?
There are quite a few factors that made neon lights grow less and less popular as the years went by. For example, they were:
- Expensive: Neon lights are quite expensive to acquire and maintain. Since they are made using real glass and noble gases, the cost of even a single sign can go up to a thousand dollars or two (depending on how complex the design is and how large the sign has to be). Since there are other options available, which we mentioned above, neon signs have become less and less popular.
- Not extremely safe: While neon signs are generally safe to use, the presence of real glass and potentially harmful gases do make them something of a concern. Especially when it comes to public places. With the emergence of safer options like LED lights, neon lights got outshined…quite literally.
- Somewhat fragile: Once they were up and installed, there wasn’t a lot of risk to neon signs. They usually lasted for a long time. However, there was no getting around the fact that they used glass in their construction. The glass tubes could possibly shatter under sudden impact, and it could pose a danger to anyone present nearby. On the other hand, LED lights and digital displays use plastic, which doesn’t come with these risks.
These are some of the main reasons why neon lights started to fade away from widespread use.
On top of the ones listed above, another reason that drove neon signs away from popularity was the old-fashioned vibe that had become their inherent characteristic. Modern buildings and establishments don’t use them anymore and they probably won’t, in the future, even if all the other risks and downsides were to go away.
Final Words
And that brings our post to an end.
To recap, when was neon light invented? Neon lights were invented more than a century ago, in 1910, by Georges Claude. They gained popularity throughout the decades that passed. The popularity mushroomed around the late 1900’s, as businesses started adopting the signs to advertise themselves to the passing public.
However, nowadays, their popularity has gone lower and lower. They are still being used, mostly in a nostalgic sentiment. LED neon signs have been taking the place of actual glass-constructed signs due to their affordability, durability, and overall safety.
Regardless of how popular or otherwise they are, if you are looking to buy a neon sign for your home, business, or office, you should 100% go for it. There’s nothing that can uniquely decorate your space as a traditional, old-fashioned neon sign.