Ramsay, Sir William

Willie Ramsay, Sir William s thirteen-year-old son, inquired, What are you going to call the new gas I should like to call it novum. His father liked the suggestion, but thought that the synonymous term, neon, would sound better, and it is by this name that the gas discovered in June, 1898, is now known (16). In the brilliant neon signs on every business street one may now see at night the blaze of crimson light that brought such deep satisfaction and contentment to Professor Ramsay and Dr. Travers. 

Ramsay, Sir William. The Gases of the Atmosphere. Macmillan and Co., Limited, London. 1905. 

Ramsay, Sir William (1852-1916) Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904. 

Ramsay, Sir William (1852-1916) Scottish physical chemist who isolated the five elements argon, neon, krypton, xenon, and radon, constituting the whole class of the noble, or inert, gases in the periodic table. He was also the first to isolate helium, previously believed to exist only in the Sun. His writings include The Gases of the Atmosphere and Elements and Electrons. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1904. Radon s atomic weight was determined by Ramsay. 

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