Williams Tube memory, Selectron question, and Charactron

From: Christian Fandt <cfandt_at_netsync.net>
Date: Mon Aug 16 14:20:57 1999

Upon the date 06:40 PM 8/16/99 +0100, Tony Duell said something like:
>> >We certainly talk about 'counting tubes' when refering to dekatrons,
>> >trochatrons, etc. Never seen them called 'counting valves'. And CRTs are
>> >certainly 'tubes' over here.
>>
>> Probably the USA expression "tube" was adopted to differentiate between a
>> 'controlled' valve (diode, triode, tetrode, etc.) and these more recent
>
>Other things that are always 'tubes' in the UK :
>
>Photomultipliers
>TV camera devices (vidicons, image orthicons, etc)
>Geiger-Muller detectors
>
>> thermionic emission devices you speak of. But I would have called a CRT a
>> Cathode Ray Valve (CRV) because of its function. However, V. Zworykin had
>> perfected in the USA that device which presents an image on a phosphor
>> screen mounted on a glass envelope under vacuum which we all call the CRT.
>
>Except you could argue that was a development of work done by Braun
>(Germany) which itself came from work done by J. J. Thompson (England).

There's no arguement needed. Recall I used the word "perfected".

>
>Incidentally, some old books (American) on radio refer to triodes as
>'Audion Bulbs'.

Those must be books dating before, say, 1915 or so. Or written in 1930 by a
then-oldtimer who doesn't like change :)

Regards, Chris
-- --
Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian
Jamestown, NY USA cfandt_at_netsync.net
        Member of Antique Wireless Association
        URL: http://www.antiquewireless.org/
Received on Mon Aug 16 1999 - 14:20:57 BST

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