What are helium, neon, argon used for?
Passing electric current through noble gases such as helium, neon and argon causes them to emit light of various colours. This is used in gas discharge lamps (e.g. neon lights). Helium is a lighter-than-air gas, so it’s used in blimps and balloons. Highly pressurised helium (liquid helium) is very cold and so is also occasionally used in cooling. These noble gases are very unreactive and so are often used to provide an inert atmosphere. Many chemical reactions involve reactants or products which will be destroyed by contact with oxygen. Thus the reaction has to be carried out in an atmosphere of a less reactive gas. Argon is the most common choice for air-sensitive laboratory reactions.
