Tungar argon rectifier
Dateafter 1955
Inventory NumberVT5230
ClassificationVacuum Tube
Subject
Maker
General Electric Company
1892-present
Cultural Region
Place of Origin
Dimensions0.6 lb., 20 x 9 x 9 x 30 cm (0.3 kg, 7 7/8 x 3 9/16 x 3 9/16 x 11 13/16 in.)
Overall - Storage: 14 x 16 x 22 cm (5 1/2 x 6 5/16 x 8 11/16 in.)
Overall - Storage: 14 x 16 x 22 cm (5 1/2 x 6 5/16 x 8 11/16 in.)
Material
DescriptionA hot-cathode rectifier, looks kind of like a light bulb with a wire coming out of the top.
InscribedTungar 217283 Made in U.S.A. 39 7
Curatorial RemarksJAL FOR CATALOGUER:
From wikipedia "Rectifier"
Argon gas electron tube
The General Electric Tungar rectifier was an argon gas-filled electron tube device with a tungsten filament cathode and a carbon button anode. It was useful for battery chargers and similar applications from the 1920s until low-cost solid-state rectifiers (the metal rectifiers at first) supplanted it. These were made up to a few hundred volts and a few amperes rating, and in some sizes strongly resembled an incandescent lamp with an additional electrode.
