Posted on 10/29/2014 6:50:04 AM PDT by Robert A Cook PE
Is that sort of like, why they call them NEON tubes?
They are trying to ban welding!
Nothing but mild steel can be welded without Argon.
.
“Isn’t argon used in most double and triple-paned glass windows? And in the vaccuum tubes still used in some electric guitar amps?”
No and no. Windows use nitrogen and vacuum tubes ideally have no gas in them.
“Argon is used in neon lighting too.”
No it’s not...
Uh, yes it is. By neon of course I mean the general category of lighting. Don’t nitpick on some technicality that neon is not the gas used in every situation.
“If I recall correctly, it’s red.”
No...
Neon has the famous bright orange glow, argon is a deep purple, nitrogen is a reddish purple.
Yep, the same naming principle applies :-).
“No...”
You’re right!
It’s been 40 years since I worked for a company that made neon dance floors. We used three tubes in each floor channel; Red,Yellow, and Blue. So, depending on which tubes we lit, we got Red/Yellow/Blue/Orange/Purple/Green. All three tubes lit was a fugly color we called Burple! Fun company to work for! Met a lot of lovely cocktail waitresses!
“For instance, voltage-regulator tubes contain various inert gases such as argon, helium or neon, which will ionize at predictable voltages.”
There used to be voltage regulator tubes 50 years ago... They were not vacuum tubes though. And they weren’t used in TVs though. Except for antiques, the only vacuum tube we use today as consumers are the magnetron in your microwave oven.
There are a few exceptions to this, for instance some audio buffs think tube amplifiers sound better. They still use traveling wave tubes but most of that has switched over to semiconductors. Some radio transmitters still use them.
“Some special purpose tubes” - rare and neither audio amplifier tubes nor “vacuum” tubes. And what you experienced was more likely implosion, not explosion.
The typical amplifier triode has a heated cathode - the glow you see and which emits a stream of thermionic electrons - a plate (anode), and inbetween a grid which “regulates” the amount of electrons which reach the plate. A small (music) signal is applied to the grid which controls the (larger) cathode-to-plate current - bingo! amplification! (To drive a loudspeaker usually a transformer is used to convert the high-voltage/low-current signal of the tube to a low-voltage/high-current signal able to drive the speaker.) The presence of *any* gases in the tube would inhibit the flow of electrons from the cathode to the plate and you’d be looking for a replacement. Well, that’s the basic principle.
The EPA should be threatened with a close down
Thanks Robert A. Cook, PE.
It isn’t about argon, or about safety, or about the environment, it is about power.
Has Obama sold out to the Chinese?
Actually, high powered “audiophile” amplifiers manufactured today still use the 6L6GC vacuum tube, and they are very expensive! But they do not use any inert gas whatsoever.
>> “Has Obama sold out to the Chinese?” <<
.
In union with Bill Clinton, and George W Bush.
.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.