After supplying liquid oxygen to Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay, Georges Claude became interested in studying inert gases. In 1910, he discovered that a sealed tube filled with neon produced a bright red-orange light when electric current ran through it. Following his discovery, Claude invented a neon lamp. He then discovered how to bend the tubes and form letters, which became neon signs.

Hollow glass tubes are used for making neon signs. Lead glass tubes are the type most commonly used. They usually have a diameter ranging from eight to fifteen millimeters. Lengths of the tubes vary. The tubes are scored with a file before they are heated; this enables the glass bender to snap or break them at the desired lengths after they have been heated. The tubes are then heated in sections until they become malleable and can be bent into the desired shapes. Next, they are lined up with a graphics or lettering pattern to be used for the sign.

Once a tube is finished, an electrode is welded to each end. These electrodes are made of lead glass and have a metal shell. Two wires extend beyond the electrode so that the sign wiring can be attached later. It is extremely important that all of the welds and seals are secure without any leaks. The finished tubes are then processed. First, each tube is attached to a manifold attached to a vacuum pump. The tube is evacuated of air until it reaches near-vacuum. While this process occurs, a high current of electric charge is forced through the tube by way of the wires protruding from the electrodes.

This process, known as bombarding, heats the glass tube to a temperature of several hundred degrees Celsius, producing a very clean interior of the glass tube at a high vacuum. The tube is left attached to the manifold and allowed to cool. It is then filled with neon, argon, or a mixture of gases.

Claude's neon signs brought a new energy to the commercial districts of cities and even to residential neighborhoods, where local shops displayed these blazing, attention-grabbing signs. Light and color became essentials of outdoor advertising.

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