Re: Somewhat off topic. Neon gas tubes..

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Ed Phillips <evp@xxxxxxxxxxx>

Tesla list wrote:
>
> Original poster: "Mercurus2000" <mercurus2000@xxxxxxx>
>
> I was just wondering, to make a neon light, all you really need is to
> pump a chamber down to several torr and then backfill fully till it's
> full with neon right?
> Adam

	Nowhere near that simple if you want the tube to last.  Necessary to
pump it down, heat it for a prolonged period until all of the residual
occluded gas has been removed, then refil with ultra pure neon to a
pressure which depends on tube diameter and electrode type.  For a
typical 10 cm diameter tube a typical pressure would be around 14 mm
Hg..  I think there are at least a couple of neon sign makers on the
list who can tell you more.

Ed