3 ms·
> in space, a vacuum tube is a couple funny shaped pieces of metal in close proximity I can't believe this never occurred to me before. The possibilities are s
by foobarian 4y ago
> in space, a vacuum tube is a couple funny shaped pieces of metal in close proximity
I can't believe this never occurred to me before. The possibilities are staggering :-)
- xen2xen1 4y agoAuthor George O Smith went into great detail about space and vacuum tubes. Actually remember it as a great read.
- actionfromafar 4y agoYeah... there will probably be less fouling, too, because most of the metal vapour will just float away. So the "tubes" should last longer, too.
- Arrath 4y agoJust spitballing: in a use case like TFA, building pieces and structures in/around an asteroid, would they not be subject to fouling by dust and debris from the processes going on around them?
- actionfromafar 4y agoYes sure, but you can still do a lot of interesting stuff without having a lot of radio tubes. You can put up a thin "shield" some meters away. Stuff doesn't have to be very rigid in many cases if it's built "in situ" in space.
- Arrath 4y agoThanks!
- dtgriscom 4y agoI think you would still need the glass envelopes to prevent electrons roaming between devices.