Definition

Noun: A glow tube is a type of gas-discharge tube. It consists of a cold cathode and a diode enclosed within a tube that is filled with a specific gas. The tube produces light, and the color of that light depends on the type of gas used inside it.

Usage

A glow tube is a technical component used to produce colored light through electrical discharge in a gas. * Neon signs are a common commercial application of the glow tube principle. * The physicist explained how a glow tube operates at a lower voltage than a hot-cathode tube. * The color of the light from a glow tube filled with neon is orange-red.

Advanced Usage

• "Cold-cathode glow tube": This is a more precise technical term, explicitly stating the type of cathode used, which distinguishes it from tubes with heated filaments.

Variants and Related Words

• Glow discharge: (n) The physical phenomenon of light emission from a gas under electrical stress, which is the operating principle of a glow tube.
• Neon tube: (n) A specific, common type of glow tube filled with neon gas.
• Nixie tube: (n) A specialized type of glow tube designed to display numerals or symbols.

Synonyms

• Gas-discharge tube
• Cold-cathode tube

Related Phrases

• To operate a glow tube: To cause a glow tube to function by applying the correct electrical voltage.
  • The circuit was designed to safely operate the glow tube.

Noun

1. a gas-discharge tube consisting of a cold cathode and a diode in a tube filled with gas; the color of the glow depends on the particular gas