HP-45B hydrogen thyratron. | |||
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HP-45B hydrogen thyratron. A thyratron is a vacuum tube used to switch on high voltages. They act like a switch that can be turned on by applying a small voltage to a control terminal. They can only switch on, not off: They turn back off only when the voltage being controlled drops to zero on its own. The modern equivalent is the SCR (silicon controlled rectifier) and triac. This one contains a small (less than atmospheric pressure) amount of hydrogen gas instead of a pure vacuum. Various different gases are used in thyratrons, and apparently the hydrogen variety is used when particularly fast switching times are required. Source: eBay seller tapent Contributor: Theodore Gray Acquired: 24 February, 2007 Text Updated: 29 April, 2007 Price: $5 Size: 5" Purity: <1% | |||
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