A chart of colours for neon tubing. With a discription of where the colours are derived
This colour chart (Above) shows the range of most commonly available colours:
Also This is a link to the EGL of America colour chart
Please note that some of the EGL colours are not easily available here in the UK and may need to be ordered for production or wait till a production run is under taken.
Please note that colours are difficult to reproduce and should not be used as a swatch. There are several manufacturers of raw tubing (not bent) and as such we reserve the right to use any supplier as we see apropiate at the time of ordering. We would suggest looking around at colours on existing installations if you can not call in to see us.
When you excite neon gas with energy it emits photons of light in the red spectrum of visible light band width. See the detail of the planet in my sculpture "Burkeland" above.A neon light tube acheives this by ionising the gas with electricity. creating a neon plasma.
If we use other elements to pass energy through in the form of Electricity then we can emit Ultraviolet (UV) light along with a smaller amount of visible blue light too. Add this UV light to fluorescent materials and they glow:
Fluorescence refers to the visible light materials give off when exposed to invisible ultraviolet light. Most minerals do not fluoresce. But a few contain atoms in which electrons become boosted to a higher energy level by ultraviolet light. When these electrons fall back to their original state, they give off energy in the form of visible light.
There are several minerals that emit light, or glow under black lights (ultraviolet (UV) light). Non-visible (to the human eye) black light reacts with the chemicals in minerals and causes the rock to fluorescence. If the glow remains after you remove the light source, you have a phosphorescence mineral. Other minerals glow when struck or crushed (triboluminescence) or when heated (thermoluminescence). A UV light that emits both longwave and shortwave light helps identify fluorescent minerals as many emit different color under varying wavelengths; however use caution when using shortwave light as it can cause blindness.
Scheelite
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A popular, collectible mineral, scheelite (calcium tungstate), glows blue under short wave ultraviolet light.
Flourite
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Flourite (calcium fluoride) usually fluoresces blue, but many specimens emit various colors, including yellow, red, white, green and red. A few specimens simultaneously produce different colors when viewed under long wave and short wave UV light, while a number of fluorite specimens' phosphorescence (glow without a visible light source) in a third color.
Scapolite
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Commonly found in short to long crystals, scapolite, which means "shaft" in Greek, emits orange or yellow color and, on rare occasions, red under black light. As an attractive gemstone, scapolite's colors vary from yellow or orange to pink or violet.
Willemite
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Nearly all willemite ore (zinc silicate) glows bright green under black light and a few will phosphorescence. This rare mineral, a source of zinc ore, is one of the finest specimens of fluorescent material.
Calcite
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Not all calcite minerals are florescent, although some specimens glow red, yellow, pink or blue under UV light. Calcite (calcium carbonite) gets its name from the Greek "chalix" (lime) and has many uses, such as cement, mortars, or as an ornamental stone.
Autunite
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One of the most beautiful radioactive minerals, the yellow-green color of the autunite mineral (hydrated calcium uranyl phosphate) fluoresces under ultraviolet light. Strangely, when autunite loses water it irreversibly converts to an entirely different substance called meta-autunite-I. After many years, the meta-autunite turns to powder, ruining the specimen.
Hyalite
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One of many names for the common opal, hyalite is a colorless to sky-blue transparent color that fluoresces green under UV light.
Gypsum
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A common sedimentary mineral, gypsum, (hydrated calcium sulfate) glows blue under ultraviolet light. As a natural insulator, gypsum feels warm to the touch, and is commonly used in drywall.
Eucryptite
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Some eucryptite (lithium aluminum silicate) minerals fluoresce pink under ultraviolet light. Eucryptite crystals, although transparent to translucent, are rarely cut as gemstones.
Info courtesy of America's Smithsonian and others.
So by processing these minerals and combining them with other elements we can produce fluorescent powders to line our tubes with. And acheive a vast array of colours:
Below is a downloadable pdf File colour chart.
The colour chart gives reference to available colours but please check stocks/availability and changes.
Also the print / screen representation is just that and the live colours from the tubes can vary from the visual here. feel free to call in to see colours lit. Call or email to make an appointment.
