FTF: Merritt4Cache
First: The junior high chemistry lesson:
Neon was discovered by Sir William Ramsay, a Scottish chemist, and Morris M. Travers, an English chemist, shortly after their discovery of the element krypton in 1898. Like krypton, neon was discovered through the study of liquefied air. Although neon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe, only 0.0018% of the earth's atmosphere is neon.
Neon is present to a small extent in the atmosphere and is obtained as a byproduct from the liquefaction and separation of air. This would not normally be carried out in the laboratory and neon is available commercially in cylinders under pressure.
The largest use for neon gas is in advertising signs. Neon is also used to make high voltage indicators and is combined with helium to make helium-neon lasers. Liquid neon is used as a cryogenic refrigerant. Neon is highly inert and forms no known compounds, although there is some evidence that it could form a compound with flourine.
Neon is a very inert element. It forms an unstable hydrate. In a vacuum discharge tube, neon glows reddish orange. Of all the rare gases, the discharge of neon is the most intense at ordinary voltages and currents. It is present in the atmosphere as 1 part in 65000. Liquid neon has over 40 times more refrigerating capacity than liquid helium, and more than 3 times that of liquid hydrogen.
Now for the cache!