If you live in a modern town, the chances are that you have seen neon lights. Most of them are usually used for advertisements and are hung in front of stores. You can also find them in front of bars in most cases, but chances are, you have seen the signs at some point. You may have seen the signs somewhere, but how they work can be a bit of a challenge as not many people know how they work. Below, you can find a clear breakdown of what the signs are made of and how they work.
How Neon Signs Work and What They’re Made of
The light consists of single or multiple glass tubes shaped to the specific design of your desire. There is an electrode at the end of each tube – on one side, a positive one, and a negative one on the other side. And in the tubes, that’s each tube used; there is neon gas. Neon gas is a noble gas – what that means is that the gas will only undergo chemical reactions when put under high energy.
One of the high energy conditions is coming into contact with electricity. When the gas isn’t in contact with high energy levels, it will only drift through the tube; nothing takes place. When you apply alternate currents to the electrodes – these are the ones found in the tubes, the energy in the neon atoms separate. When the electrons are free, there’s a negative charge – these charges are drawn to the positive electrode. This will happen at the other end of the tube. The colored glow that the light gives happens when the ionized atoms recapture their electrons and become neutral. This is when the ions return to their original energy levels. When you cut off the electricity supply, it returns the neon atoms to their normal inert state.
Do Neon Signs Burnout?
Since they seem to burn almost all day and night, you may be tempted to think that they don’t burn out. However, when neon lights burn out, they at times don’t thoroughly burn out. You may sometimes find that only parts of the light will burn out – small parts of it will stop glowing.
Reasons
There are several reasons why a neon light may burn out, generally for the following reasons.
- Wires burning out – the most common aspect of burnout for neon signs involves high-voltage wiring. This will happen when the wires overheat – the wires that connect the neon glass tubes.
- Gas tubes failing will only happen when the electrode on either side of the tubes fails to work.
- Transformers failing – when there’s some fault in the transformers which allows light to emulate, the sign won’t work.
The Lifespan of the Signs
Neon lights generally have a lifespan of around eight to fifteen years. This depends, though, on how well you care for them. There are neon signs Gold Coast produces that have proven to be effective forms of marketing for storefront businesses. Other signs can last much more than fifteen years.
How Do Neon Signs Work
Neon signs are still a great way to advertise your business. This is what they are made of and how they essentially work. You also get a feel on what may cause them to burn out and what’s their lifespan.
