cathode ray

noun

1. a flow of electrons emanating from a cathode in a vacuum tube and focused into a narrow beam.

cathode ray

1. A beam of electrons streaming from the negatively charged end of a vacuum tube (the cathode) toward a positively charged plate (the anode).

Word History and Origins

Origin of cathode ray¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

“Are we doing retro-futurism? Are we doing the the cathode ray tube screens? Are we doing all of that stuff that in 1979 felt super futuristic, and to us now, feels like 1979?” he says.

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The ’90s may have been a simpler time technologically, a fact underscored by the cathode ray tube television sets and first-generation Apple Macintosh computers that populate the photos.

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Near this installation hang a set of fuzzy, multicolor abstract photographs, the “Static” series from 2009, which depict the insides of cathode ray tubes.

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“It’ll come sooner,” he said, standing between the computers controlling the sluice gates and an old cathode ray tube TV set.

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The 47-year-old operated Recylcetronics, a business that crushed and recycled cathode ray tubes, the glass video displays commonly found in televisions and computer monitors.

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