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The Development of the Vacuum Tube Creators The Knowledge Bank at The Ohio State University Ohio State Engineer Title: The Development of the Vacuum Tube Creators: Jeffrey, Richard B. Issue Date: May-1928 Publisher: Ohio State University, College of Engineering Citation: Ohio State Engineer, vol. 11, no. 7 (May, 1928), 9-10. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1811/34260 Appears in Collections: Ohio State Engineer: Volume 11, no. 7 (May, 1928) THE OHIO STATE ENGINEER The Development of the Vacuum Tube By RICHARD B. JEFFREY, '31 The history of the vacuum tube began with the discovery of the Edison Effect. This, like a great many other important discoveries, was an acci- dent. Edison, while experimenting with his in- candescent lamps, had placed more than one fila- output ment in the same bulb, and he noticed that if one of the filaments was held positive with respect to the other a current would flow through the bulb. He also found that this positive element, or, as it is now called, plate, did not have to be hot to sustain this current flow. This phenomenon li—- H was known for some time as a curiosity, but noth- 1 +90 to \35 ing more. Then Fleming, an English experiment- +4-5 er, noticed that if an alternating current were The screen-qrid tube (tetrode). applied to this plate the current would flow only plicated system by making use of the rectifying when the plate was positive. In other words, the properties of a crystal, notably galena. When tube acted as a rectifier, allowing the current to signals were received in this way it was the signal flow in only one direction. This tube that Flem- current itself that energified the telephones. ing made was called the "Fleming Valve" and From this it was only a lgical step to the utiliza- was the forerunner of all our present day multiple tion of the Fleming valve in place of the crystal. element tubes. In fact, in England a vacuum It was a more efficient rectifier. tube is still called a "valve." Then Lee DeForest began experimenting and It was not long until this Fleming valve was he introduced the third element, the grid. If the being used commercially as a rectifier to trans- vacuum tube is the heart of the radio industry, form alternating current to direct, and various the grid is the heart of the vacuum tube. It is improvements were added to it until the modern the valve that controls the action of the tube. rectifier tubes were evolved. Among the mosi DeForest found that if the signal was introduced important improvements were the substitution of between the grid and the filament, and the fila- a metalic filament for the carbon one, and the ment and plate were energized by the proper bat- introduction of certain gasses into the vacuum to teries, then the signal obtained between the plate increase the conductivity of the tube. and the filament would be several times input to These diodes or two-element tubes are men- the grid. It was here that the amplifying action tioned because no account of vacuum tube develop- of the tube appeared. For many years the vac- ment would be complete without them, but this uum tube was used in radio solely as a detector, paper is more concerned with the more compli- and its development as an amplifier was left to cated tubes used first in telephony and now form- the telephone companies. ing the very heart of radio communication. These With the popularization of the telephone and were, until very recently, all triodes, or three- its increasing use for long distance calls the drop element tubes, but lately a tetrode has been intro- in the line became very troublesome. It was dif- duced, of which more will be said later. ficult to overcome this trouble, but the invention The first application of vacuum tubes to radio, of the vacuum tube showed the way out. Its or "wireless" as it was then called, was in the amplifying property was made use of and devel- detection of signals. When Marconi invented his oped by the telephone engineers nad then this wireless he used at first a "coherer," a glass tube improved tube was again applied to radio. filled with metal filings, to detect the signals. Here the development of the vacuum tube This acted like a relay, and the current to work seemed to stop. For years there was really only the telephones came from a local battery. Then one type of tube. It was made in different models it was found possible to do away with this com- for different battery voltages, but that was about the only difference between the models. During this period the methods of operating and the cir- cuits were greatly improved, but so much atten- output tion was paid to this end of the problem that tubes were forgotten. Then the tide began to turn, until now circuits are forgotten in the rush of new tubes. The first improvement to come was the thori- ated filament, closely followed by the high vac- uum. It was found that by covering the ordinary tungsten filament with a coating of thorium oxide the efficiency could be greatly increased and the W +4-5 to 135 current consumption lowered. That is why mod- Fundamental triode circuit. ern tubes do not light up as brightly as an electric MAY, 1928 10 THE OHIO STATE ENGINEER light bulb. This coating of thorium oxide makes may be operated directly from the power mains, it unnecessary to heat them so hot, and thus in- and thus all batteries are eliminated. creases the life of the tube. The high vacuum Late in 1927 a tube was introduced to this coun- came as the result of the invention of better try which may truly be called the greatest single pumps for evacuating the tubes. The pumps most step in the development of radio since Hertz's generally used now use mercury and operate in a first experiments. This was the screen-grid tube. manner very similar to that of the small suction It is almost safe to predict that it will bring the pumps used in a chemistry laboratory which are most revolutionary changes radio has ever known. attached to the water pipes. In addition to using The operation of this tube cannot be explained these high power pumps, they introduce into each completely without a rather technical discussion. tube certain substances which combine with any The great obstacle to high amplification with ordi- air which may be left in the tube. The high vac- nary tubes has been the difficulty in controlling uum makes a tube quieter in operation and allows oscillation, which results in squeals. It is caused the use of higher plate voltages. A high vacuum mainly by the short distance between the plate tube is spoken of as a "hard" tube and makes a and grid. In the screen-grid tube the plate is better amplifier than a "soft" one. entirely surrounded by a second grid, called the About 1925 the special purpose tubes began to screen-grid. This is connected to the battery that make their appearance. Before this all tubes had supplies the plate. The effect of this screen-grid been about alike, and one kind was used through- being between the plate and the control grid is the out a set. This was not a very good arrangement, same as if the plate and control grid were several for a tube that is designed for a detector will not feet apart. The oscillation from thsi source is make a good amplifier, and one designed for high almost entirely stopped. This results in much amplification will not make a good output tube, higher effiicency. It is interesting to compare and so on. Obviously it was not possible to de- the results obtained with this tube with those of sign one model that could be used everywhere. the older tubes. The screen-grid tube, 222, gives So the special purpose tubes began to appear. an amplification at broadcasting wavelengths of Their characteristics are too complicated to be from 25 to 50, the older type, the 201A, gives dealt with here; they make their appearance in about 8 at all wavelengths. On very high wave- the form of special detectors, output tubes, high lengths the 222 may give an amplification as high mu tubes, (mu is a symbol for amplification), as 200, but this is unusual. The 222 may also radio frequency tubes, and in many other forms. be used in a voice amplificer, when it amplifies about 35, in this connection the 210A never gives And now comes one of the two truly great more than 8. The 222 also uses much less cur- changes in the vacuum tube, the A. C. tube. Since rent, about half as much as the other type, and the invention of the first audion, men have may under certain conditions be used as an A. C. dreamed of operating receivers direct from the tube. At the time of writing this account no power mains, but the great obstacle was the diffi- quotation could be obtained on the price of these culty in eliminating the hum. With the introduc- tubes, but even though the price may be high, tion of the so called "B battery eliminator" a few they will probably cut the cost of operating a set years ago, part of this dream was realized, but by giving better results with fewer tubes. the filament heating presented a greater problem. Several methods for heating the filaments from the power mains were introduced, but were, in general, unsuccessful.
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