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There is a way in that it matters: in a vacuum tube you can have cathodic rays but (pragmatically) not anodic rays. IIRC a Veritasium video claims that these w
by afiori 2y ago
There is a way in that it matters: in a vacuum tube you can have cathodic rays but (pragmatically) not anodic rays.
IIRC a Veritasium video claims that these where essentially discovered by mistake in lightbulbs, so I suspect that Franklin would have had a hard time finding them...
- kazinator 2y agoBut a cathode is that terminal of the device where positive current escapes! It's only a "cathode ray" because it's reversed inside the tube: the terminal where positive current comes out of the device is where the negative current emanates internally to go to the other terminal. An electron beam shooting out of a device is an anode ray.
- afiori 2y agoI always mix them up... :(
- kazinator 2y agoIf we make an oscillating circuit by hooking up an inductor and capacitor and set it in motion, the devices are constantly switching their terminal designations between anode and cathode with each zero crossing. The terms are completely useless, except when talking about vacuum tube circuits and such.