ignitron

American

[ig-nahy-tron, ig-ni-tron] / ɪgˈnaɪ trɒn, ˈɪg nɪ trɒn /

noun

Electronics.

a cathode-arc vacuum tube with an auxiliary electrode projecting into a pool of mercury: it conducts current when the anode is positive.

ignitron British

/ ɪɡˈnaɪtrɒn, ˈɪɡnɪˌtrɒn /

noun

a mercury-arc rectifier controlled by a subsidiary electrode, the igniter, partially immersed in a mercury cathode. A current passed between igniter and cathode forms a hot spot sufficient to strike an arc between cathode and anode

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ignitron

First recorded in 1930–35; igni(ter) + -tron

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Scheduled performer was Westinghouse's versatile "Ignitron" tube, invented by Drs. Joseph Slepian, 44, and Leon Robert Ludwig, 30.

From Time Magazine Archive

A 5-in. glass sphere with tubular extensions on opposite sides, the Ignitron is an ordinary mercury vapor lamp except that the electrodes are the pool of mercury in the bottom of the sphere and a graphite pole above it.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023