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The Quest For the Ultimate Vacuum Tube (ieee.org)

Posted by Soulskill on from the one-tube-to-rule-them-all dept.

An anonymous reader writes: IEEE Spectrum reports on progress in the development of vacuum tube technology, which remains surprisingly relevant in 2015. "In the six decades since vacuum tubes lost out to solid-state devices in computers, receivers, and power supplies, vacuum technology has continued to evolve and branch out into new terrain, sustaining a small but skilled corps of engineers and scientists around the world, as well as a multibillion-dollar industry. That's because the traveling-wave tube and other vacuum devices continue to serve one purpose extremely well: as powerful sources of microwave, millimeter-wave, and submillimeter-wave radiation. And now, ongoing research into a new and potentially revolutionary kind of traveling-wave tube—the ultracompact and ultraefficient cold-cathode TWT—looks poised to deliver the first practical device by the end of this decade."

4 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. Vacuum tubes handle EMP's better by QuietLagoon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    EMPs are the death of solid state devices. But, due to their nature, vacuum tubes can weather EMPs fairly easily.

    1. Re:Vacuum tubes handle EMP's better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yes. The voltage spike was enough to cause internal arcs in operating tubes, vaporizing electrode material..
      So the solution for tube equipment is the same as it it for BJTs and FETs - Faraday shield and heavy transient suppression on any unshielded conductors penetrating.
      Just less of it required for tubes as they can tolerate instantaneous voltages well in excess of their rated operating voltages and can dissipate a bit of energy without taking permanent damage, though for complex ultraminiature tubes those margins are orders of magnitude lower than for a simple dumb big triode.

  2. Yeah, but he REAL test!!! by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Funny
    How does it sound in a guitar amp???

    ;)

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    1. Re:Yeah, but he REAL test!!! by confused+one · · Score: 5, Funny

      Punchy lows. Solid mids. But where it really excels is highs. They're crisp and clear all the way to 200GHz and beyond. Of course you'll have to use our superflex cable with gold plated oxygen free copper conductors to really hear the difference!