Which gas excuses faster, Ne or Ar, and how much faster?

Answer 1

Neon (Ne) gas excites faster than Argon (Ar) gas. This is primarily due to the differences in their electron configurations.

Neon has a fully filled electron shell, with a configuration of 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6. In contrast, Argon has a partially filled third shell, with a configuration of 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6.

The fully filled electron shell in Neon makes it more stable and less likely to gain or lose electrons compared to Argon. As a result, Neon has a higher excitation energy, meaning it requires less energy to move electrons to higher energy levels and reach an excited state. In other words, Neon excites faster than Argon.

However, it's important to note that the difference in excitation speed between Ne and Ar is relatively small. Both gases have relatively low excitation energies, and the time it takes for them to reach excited states is typically on a scale of microseconds or nanoseconds.