Gas-filled tube
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A gas-filled tube, also known as a discharge tube, is an arrangement of electrodes in a gas within an insulating, temperature-resistant envelope. Although the envelope was classically glass, power tubes often use ceramics, and military tubes often use glass-lined metal.
Gas-filled tubes operate by ionizing the gas to get conduction. Both hot- and cold-cathode type devices are encountered. Depending on application, either glow or arc discharge may be emphasised.
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[edit] Switching gas-filled tubes
Some important examples include the thyratron, krytron, and ignitron tubes.
[edit] Lighting and display gas-filled tubes
Specialized low-pressure gas-filled tube devices include the Nixie tube (used to display numerals) and the Decatron (used to count or divide pulses, with display as a secondary function).
Neon signage and neon lamps are other types of low-pressure gas-filled tubes.
Xenon flash lamps are gas-filled tubes used in cameras and strobe lights to produce bright flashes of light.
[edit] Other types of gas-filled tubes
A type of gas-filled tube called the Geiger-Müller tube is used to detect and measure ionizing radiation.
One of the proposed designs for a fusion reactor is basically a gas-filled tube, the Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor.
A tube in which electrons move through a vacuum (or gaseous medium) within a gas-tight envelope is called an electron tube.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Pulse Power Switching Devices - An Overview (both vacuum and gas filled switching tubes)
- Measurement of Radiation, Gas Filled Detector
- Gas discharge tubes
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