As I recall the benefits were that tubes could be made smaller than pn junctions and the power requirement was much lower. The problem was that the anode being only a few atoms in size was quickly destroyed by the collision of electrons. Anybody have an update?
2006-08-25 18:34:11 · 4 answers · asked by Sleeping Troll 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
As I recall, the main advantage of vacuum tubes on a chip, is that they were impervious to cosmic rays and other types of space radiation. Semiconductors on the other hand, have a tendency to degrade to the point of being unusable under those circumstances.
I haven't heard anything about tubes on a chip lately either, but suspect they are still being used where there is a lot of radiation in the environment. Don't expect them to replace silicon anywhere else however. There just isn't enough demand for them.
2006-08-25 19:12:05 · answer #1 · answered by Techguy2396 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Takamine is using "Cool Tube" technology on their accoustic guitars. Perhaps they are resurfacing. They have advantages in the musical field, and perhaps other fields as well.
2006-08-26 02:00:57 · answer #2 · answered by Prodigal Son 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, they can only get the tubes down to the size of small potato chips.
2006-08-26 01:43:10 · answer #3 · answered by jc20155 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
He left & joined the bolts on sandwitches!
2006-08-26 01:41:33 · answer #4 · answered by Frogmama 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋