History of neon and LED light signs

Outdoor LED light signs are a custom now. We see them everywhere. Outside the pharmacies there are sliding LED lights. Shopping malls sport large letters in this material and bars display vintage signs visible in the dark. It wasn't always like that, though.

For years, neon signs have held the scepter of illuminated signs. What happened then? How did we go from the neon boom to the current success of the LED ?

The ancestors of neon lettering

The theory behind the neon signs dates back to 1675 , when there was no electricity. Astronomer Jean Picard observed a mercury barometer that glowed when shaken. The cause of the light was static electricity, but it was still too early to understand the phenomenon. It took more than 200 years for this little discovery to become something more concrete.

In 1855 the physicist Heinrich Geissler created the first Geissler tube, a glass tube filled with low pressure gas. Depending on the version, the tube could be filled with hydrogen, nitrogen or carbonic acid. By applying aluminum electrodes, the tube lit up and changed color according to the gas used. And the neon ? It would only be discovered in 1898 by William Ramsey and MW Travers .

The first bright neon letters

The discoveries of Picard, Geissler, Ramsey and Travers set the stage for the first neon glowing letters. To get one's hands on real neon lamps, however, one had to wait until 1910 . Georges Claude showed the Paris Expo audience his discovery: a tube filled with neon gas attached to an electric generator. Turning on the generator the tube lit up.

It was "liquid fire". It was the magic of the new science at work in all its glory!

In 1912 , Claude's collaborator, the advertiser Jaques Fonseque, sensed that the invention could be monetized. The two founded Claude Neon , which specializes in neon lamps and luminous letters . The first client was a barber from Paris, but it was only the beginning of a great success. In 1919 the Paris Opera House amazed everyone with a huge red and blue neon sign.

Soon the success of neon became international. In 1923 he landed in the United States and it took 4 years to conquer New York . In 1927, the city sported more than 750 neon signs , some of which are housed in the Neon Museum of the La Concha Motel in Las Vegas.

The genesis of outdoor LED light signs

Neon vintage signs dominated the scene for a good part of the 20th century. Colorful and powerful, they even became a means of making art. However, it was fate that the scepter would switch to a cheaper and more durable light source: the LED.

The diffusion of outdoor LED light signs is quite recent . Nonetheless, the earliest versions of the "light emitting diode" are almost contemporary with neon lamps. The scientist Henry Joseph Round made the first researches on the subject in 1907 , deepened in 1927 by the Russian Oleg Vladimirovich . The Russian's article analyzed the effects of electricity on silicon carbide. Exposed to a current of 10 volts, the crystal glowed: why and what were the possible applications?

It was not until 1961 to see the first applications of the light emitting diode. Gary Pittman and Bob Biard of Texas Instruments created the first LED lamps . In the following years the first colored LEDs appeared, usable both for illuminated signs and in telecommunications. The devices were still very expensive, too expensive for widespread use. This all began to change in 1970.

The diffusion of LED lights

In the beginning, the LED was relegated to technical laboratories or professional equipment . It wasn't powerful enough to use it in actual lighting. Neon signs were much more visible and cheaper than outdoor LED light signs. In addition, the first LEDs were only red , a tiring color for the human eye.

In the 1960s, an LED lamp cost about $ 200 - too much. The credit for the current diffusion of the LED goes to Fairchild Semiconductors, which reduced its cost in the 1970s . Scientists found a new production process infinitely cheaper than the previous one. The new lamps cost 5 cents a piece . This paved the way for the spread of outdoor LED strips and cheap shop signs.

The LEDs became white and bright, capable of emitting a powerful light using very little energy . Compared to neon signs, LEDs produced more lumens per watt, with significant energy savings. The new signs were also longer- lived , although more subject to temperature changes. The producers soon found a solution to these problems as well.

Roadrelics.com: vintage and modern light letters

Thanks to advances in technology, the lights to LED current are perfect for the ' s industrial lluminazione both to external . Dielle Building offers you lamps, signs, vintage luminous letters and much more. With us you can give a new face to your sign, much more attractive and "bright".

Contact us to find out more about our services. Our professionals will help you choose the best solution for you and your brand.