Where does neon get its famous red-orange glow?

Neon’s familiar glow comes from electric discharge in sealed glass tubes or lamps filled with low-pressure neon gas. When electricity excites the atoms, they emit characteristic red-orange light as they relax back to lower energy states. Pure neon gives the classic color, although many commercial ‘neon signs’ actually use other gases or phosphor coatings to produce different colors. Neon was discovered in 1898 by William Ramsay and Morris Travers. It is also used in some indicators and specialized lighting because of its stable, bright discharge behavior.