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Neon

Element 10 · Noble gas

Specimen

Atomic number
10
Atomic mass
20.18
State at room temperature
Gas
Melting point
-248.6 °C
Boiling point
-246.1 °C
Density
0.0008999 g/cm³
Discovered
1898

Atomic mass from IUPAC.1 Other physical data from PubChem.2

Can I eat it?

In food and water
Not needed, little harm known. Neon is a gas that does not react with other substances, and it is not toxic. At high amounts in air, it can cause suffocation because it takes the place of oxygen. 3

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The atom

Ne
ShellElectrons
1 (K) 2
2 (L) outermost 8
Total10

Configuration [He] 2s² 2p⁶

2s ↑ ↓
2p ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓
A shell diagram: each ring is an electron shell and each dot is one electron. The nucleus holds 10 protons. The outermost shell is shown in red. Electrons do not travel on rings: they fill orbitals, regions where an electron is likely to be found. The boxes are those orbitals for the electrons outside the He core, with one arrow per electron.

Related elements

Group 18
He Helium Ar Argon Kr Krypton Xe Xenon Rn Radon Og Oganesson

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Sources

  1. 1

    IUPAC Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights (CIAAW), 2024. Abridged Standard Atomic Weights 2024 .

    The atomic mass shown for the 84 elements that have a standard atomic weight.

  2. 2

    National Center for Biotechnology Information (PubChem), 2026. Periodic Table of Elements .

    Electron configuration, melting and boiling points, density and discovery year for all 118 elements.

  3. 3

    National Center for Biotechnology Information (PubChem), with text from CAMEO Chemicals and HSDB, 2026. Neon (CID 23935), compound summary , Record Description; Toxicity, Human Toxicity Excerpts.

    • Chemically inert. The vapors are lighter than air. Nontoxic, but can act as a simple asphyxiant.
    • Neon is among the number of gases and vapors that, when present in high concentrations in air, act primarily as simple asphyxiants without other significant physiologic effects.
  4. 4

    National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 2026. Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions for All Elements .

    Isotopic composition of each element; the most abundant isotope sets the neutron count in the nucleus view.