Editing Neon (section)

===Lighting and signage===
{{Main|Neon sign}}
[[File:FLORIST (neon sign).jpg|thumb|Neon sign in a [[Hamden, Connecticut]], florist shop|300x300px]]Two quite different kinds of [[neon lighting]] are in common use. [[Neon lamp|Neon glow lamps]] are generally tiny, with most operating between 100 and 250 [[volts]].<ref name="Baumann">{{cite book |last=Baumann |first=Edward |title=Applications of Neon Lamps and Gas Discharge Tubes |date=1966 |publisher=Carlton Press}}</ref> They have been widely used as power-on indicators and in circuit-testing equipment, but [[light-emitting diodes]] (LEDs) now dominate in those applications. These simple neon devices were the forerunners of [[plasma display|plasma displays and plasma television screens]].<ref name="Myers">{{cite book |last1=Myers |first1=Robert L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ilHvFwoAZDMC&pg=PA69 |title=Display interfaces: fundamentals and standards |date=2002 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-0-471-49946-6 |pages=69–71 |quote=Plasma displays are closely related to the simple neon lamp. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629141148/https://books.google.com/books?id=ilHvFwoAZDMC&pg=PA69 |archive-date=29 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Weber">{{cite journal |last=Weber |first=Larry F. |author-link=Larry F. Weber |date=April 2006 |title=History of the plasma display panel |journal=IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=268–278 |bibcode=2006ITPS...34..268W |doi=10.1109/TPS.2006.872440 |s2cid=20290119}} Paid access.</ref> [[Neon sign]]s typically operate at much higher voltages (2–15 [[kilovolt]]s), and the luminous tubes are commonly meters long.<ref>{{cite web |title=ANSI Luminous Tube Footage Chart |url=http://www.allanson.com/wp-content/uploads/Product_PDFs/ANSI_Luminous_footage.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206163356/http://www.allanson.com/wp-content/uploads/Product_PDFs/ANSI_Luminous_footage.pdf |archive-date=6 February 2011 |access-date=10 December 2010 |publisher=[[American National Standards Institute]] (ANSI)}} Reproduction of a chart in the catalog of a lighting company in Toronto; the original ANSI specification is not given.</ref> The glass tubing is often formed into shapes and letters for signage, as well as architectural and artistic applications.

In [[neon sign]]s, neon produces an unmistakable bright reddish-orange light when [[electric current]] passes through it under low pressure.<ref>{{Cite web |last=mlblevins |date=2009-06-24 |title=A Brief Summary of the Important Uses of Neon |url=https://sciencestruck.com/uses-of-neon |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Science Struck |language=en-US}}</ref> Although tube lights with other colors are often called "neon", they use different [[noble gas]]es or varied colors of [[Fluorescent bulb|fluorescent]] lighting, for example, [[argon]] produces a lavender or blue hue.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nuena |first=Julia |date=2019-09-06 |title=How Do Neon Signs Have Different Colors? |url=https://neonsign.com/how-do-neon-signs-have-different-colors/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=NeonSign.com |language=en-US}}</ref> As of 2012, there are over one hundred colors available.<ref name="Thielen">{{cite journal |last=Thielen |first=Marcus |date=August 2005 |title=Happy Birthday Neon! |url=http://www.signmuseum.net/histories/happybirthdayneon.asp |journal=Signs of the Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303060143/http://www.signmuseum.org/histories/happybirthdayneon.asp |archive-date=2012-03-03}}</ref>