Neon sign
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Neon signs are luminous-tube signs that contain neon or other inert gases at a low pressure. Applying a high voltage (usually a few thousand volts) makes the gas glow brightly. They are produced by the craft of bending glass tubing into shapes. A worker skilled in this craft is known as a glass bender, neon or tube bender.
History
The neon sign is an evolution of the earlier Geissler tube (also called a Crookes tube), which is a glass tube for demonstrating the principles of electrical discharge. Neon signs are used for many purposes.
At the 1893 World's Fair, the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, Nikola Tesla's neon lamp signs were displayed. The development of neon signs is credited to Georges Claude and the first public display of a neon sign was of two 38-foot long tubes in December of 1910 at the Paris Expo. The first commercial sign was sold by Jaques Fonseque, Claude’s associate, in 1912 to a Paris barber.