Amidst all the nostalgia over AM (my Dad, W5JHJ, still has a working Globe
Champion with 275 W of plate-modulated AM; I vividly remember watching the
866A mercury-vapor rectifiers glow blue and pulsate as he spoke), I've been
wondering what the *physical* mechanism is that heats a vacuum tube anode
as it operates. I'd appreciate enlightenment. We all take for granted the
fact that these things get hot as they operate, and I nod my head properly
when discussing efficiency and plate dissipation, but what, physically, is
heating the anode?
Kim Elmore, N5OP
Kim Elmore, Ph.D.
University of Oklahoma
Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies
"All of weather is divided into three parts: Yes, No, and Maybe. The
greatest of these is Maybe" The original Latin appears to be garbled.
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