“Neon” itself has become sort of a misnomer. Neon is a Noble Gas, which means it is very stable in its normal properties. Neon was seen just about everywhere in the 1980s and still lingers today because of its bright red-orange glow.
Because of the popular red-orange signs, “Neon Signs” was generically applied to even blue, green, and white signs despite different noble gasses being involved. In fact, most people I know try to apply “neon” to anything that glows.
To make these different colours, one would need either a single different gas or a combination of neon and another gas.
Aside from neon, found on the Periodic Table of the Elements are a few of many elements that also have coloured-light-emitting properties.
Do, Re, Mi, … Argon
The most commonly found noble gas on Earth, Argon has also been used in lighting. This gas is colourless, odorless, and tasteless in its natural state, but when the molecules are excited in lighting, the emissions are that of a bright purple and can be mixed with Mercury to make a bright blue.
Planetary Krypton
No, not named after DC Comic lore, Krypton was given its name from the Greek word, meaning “hidden one,” as it was discovered by evaporating nearly all of the components of liquid air. Used in lighting, Krypton can be typically green-yellow, but it is common to see it combined with Argon to make fluorescent light bulbs. Krypton is commonly used in photographic flash blubs.
Lazy Xenon
When excited by electricity, this gas emits a blue glow. Like Argon, this was first discovered by evaporating liquid air. Found in trace amounts in the atmosphere, this gas has the opposite effect on the vocals as Helium, in that it lowers the voices pitch. This is because of the speed of sound’s slowed travel through these seemingly lazy molecules. While non-toxic, it is considered dangerous to be exposed to for long periods of time because of the compounds Xenon can make. Xenon can also be found in photographic flash bulbs and strobe lights, but not worry. When contained, the substance is very docile.
