What Does Vacuum Tube Mean?
A vacuum tube is a device used to control the flow of electric current using a vacuum in a sealed container, which usually takes the form of a glass tube, hence the name. The vacuum tube is the predecessor of the modern transistor and was used in similar ways as electronically controlled switches, rectifiers, amplifiers, oscillators and in other creative ways that transistors may be used today. The cathode ray tube (CRT) used extensively in early television sets and computer monitors as screens is a kind of vacuum tube.
Techopedia Explains Vacuum Tube
The vacuum tube was invented by English physicist John Ambrose Fleming in 1904 as a basic component for electronic devices and used throughout the first half of the twentieth century. It brought about great innovations in television, radio, radar, sound recording and reproduction, telephone networks, industrial automation and, most importantly, the development of analog and digital computers. It was essentially the predecessor of the modern transistor, which brought about a revolution in technology and paved the way for the development of the personal computer.
