An Argon tube made for Neon Signs Argon & Neon tubes make up the vast majority of tubes made for neon signs It is glass tube that is heated & bent into shape by a Glassbender. Most the time it has phospor powder inside the tube. The tube has electrodes spliced onto each end. The tube is then processed by connecting it to a vacuum pump & drawn well below atmospheric pressure then heated by an electric charge which heats up the remaining atmosphere the heating sterilises the inside of the tube. Then the vacuum pump draws all of the air inside the tube to create an ultimate vacuum. Pure argon which comes from the air we breathe is then drawn into the created vacuum. The tube is still at a high vacuum. Then when the tube is ready the Hg which has been sitting in a trap while the tube is being processed, it is rolled into the tube & a small amount is placed on each electrode. The tube is then connected to a neon transformer, which are totally different to other High Voltage transformers. Where is current is so low it is measured in 1000’s of an amp called milliamp. When the transformer is turned on the electricity excites the gas atoms which creates a flow on these atoms called ionisation where the atoms collide into each other as they are flow from each end to the other.Minute particles of the Hg are also excited by the current flow to mix with the argon to create a UV light which makes the phosphor powder glow.