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The menu item above lists all the pages giving basic information with regard to
electronic and electricity. The horizontal menus, top and bottom give other information.
Why is the thermionic valve important?
The thermionic valve is important in understanding
electronics since learning about these devices can make understanding how
transistors all the more easy. Although you are unlikely to encounter these
devices and thus one reason it is no longer taught to electrical students I have
more time than your lecturers so can explain about them.
Have you ever noticed how a filament lamp depoists black
particles onto the glass? Well so did others a long time ago and one experiment
to try and stop this had a very strange side effect. The inventor turned green
when angry. Actually what happened was that he introduced a mesh into the lamp,
his idea being an attempt to attract the black depoists away from the glass.
What he discovered was that current would only flow in one direction from the
mesh, even though AC was used to light up the lamp. This gave rise to a new
family of sisters, Ann, Cathryn and Diane, well okay have it your way anode,
cathode, and diode.
The filament ( emitter) is called the CATHODE, the mesh
or collector is called the ANODE and the whole device a DIODE. Di like Bi
meaning two.
Do you want to know a secret? It concerns the
biggest blunder in electrical terms.