3 ms·
Thyratron
- dang 2y agoRelated: Experiments with a Hydrogen Thyratron - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19324373 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19324373 - March 2019 (7 comments)
- peter_d_sherman 2y agoExcellent article! (It's interesting how gas-filled tube devices could be used as rectifiers (aka "diodes"), amplifiers, and some could even be used as switches (aka "transistors")...)
- peter_d_sherman 2y ago>"The term "thyratron" is derived from Ancient Greek "θύρα" ("thyra"), meaning "door" or "valve". The term "thyristor" was further derived from a combination of "thyratron" and "transistor".[2]" [...] >"Thyratrons can handle much greater currents than similar hard-vacuum tubes. Electron multiplication occurs when the gas becomes ionized, producing a phenomenon known as a Townsend discharge." Related: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townsend_discharge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townsend_discharge (Hmm, I wonder if Townsend Discharge is related in any meaningful way to the phenomena of Negative Resistance (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_resistance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_resistance) in common fluorescent light bulbs...)