Eat at Joe's! Did you know that this neon sign is experiencing a change of state? When a neon sign lights up, like the one you see here, something is happening to the neon atoms inside the tube. How is this colorful sign related to kinetic energy and phase change? A) The electrical current in the tube generates the neon gas that glows in the dark. B) Electrical energy excites the neon atoms. They spin faster in the tube producing electromagnetic waves that we see as colors. C) Neon atoms accelerate once electrical energy is turned on to the tube. The faster the atoms move in the tube, the brighter the glow we see. D) Electrical energy accelerates the electrons in the neon gas. The gas ionizes and becomes plasma, containing both positive and negative ions.