discharge tube

American  

noun

Electronics.

1. gas tube.

---

discharge tube British  

noun

1. electronics an electrical device in which current flow is by electrons and ions in an ionized gas, as in a fluorescent light or neon tube

---

discharge tube Scientific  

1. A closed vessel having electrodes at either end and containing a gas at low pressure. When a sufficient voltage is applied to the electrodes, an electric current flows through the gas. Discharge tubes can be used to prevent current flow below a certain voltage; they can also function as lamps by the use of ionizing gas, which glows when current flows through the tube.

---

Etymology

Origin of discharge tube

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Figure 30.4 A gas discharge tube glows when a high voltage is applied to it.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

The V-2 was steered on take-off by graphite vanes in the discharge tube.

From Time Magazine Archive

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which had a giant electrostatic generator shooting 7,000,000-volt sparks from electrode to electrode four years ago, has not yet put it to work smashing atoms because of the discharge tube problem.

From Time Magazine Archive

For technical reasons, notably the difficulty of constructing a discharge tube which will handle the flow of high-voltage particles, the practical upper limit for these types is about 2,000,000 electron-volts.

From Time Magazine Archive

Shortly afterwards Lenard discovered that the cathode rays can be made to pass from the inside of a discharge tube to the outside air.

From A History of Science — Volume 3 by Williams, Henry Smith