Beam-Switching Tube

beam-switching tube

[′bēm ‚swich·iŋ ‚tüb]

(electronics)

An electron tube which has a series of electrodes arranged around a central cathode and in which an electron beam is switched from one electrode to another. Also known as cyclophon.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Beam-Switching Tube

 

an electron-beam instrument used for the inertialess switching of low-current electric circuits. Its operation is based on control of the position of an electron beam, which can be directed in a prescribed sequence to different electrodes; the electrodes, functioning as commutator segments, are insulated from one another and are connected to external circuits. The electron-beam current can be controlled by an external signal. Beam-switching tubes have not been widely used. In some cases their functions can be performed by a trochotron.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.