Amalgamated Wireless Electron Tube, 1920

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Artifact Overview

Vacuum tubes appear in older radios, televisions, amplifiers, computers, and other electronic devices. Their function: to amplify and strengthen weak electronic signals. Typical tubes are sealed glass bulbs evacuated of gas, allowing electron flow to be influenced by an interior cathode, plate and grid. Perfected in 1906 by Lee De Forest, the vacuum tube was the genesis of a communications revolution.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Electron tube

Date Made

1920

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

89.0.932.346

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Glass (Material)
Metal

Dimensions

Diameter: 1 in
Height: 4.5 in

Inscriptions

Expons 3125
Amalgamated Wireless Electron Tube, 1920