Monday, August 4, 2008

Going Tubular

Felt somewhat out of the loop of knowledge of historical electronics objects when I happened upon this CHRONOTRONIX V400 NIXIE TUBE CLOCK. I am fascinated by the look of this wonderful object/clock. It really looks like an art piece, both vintage and modern at the same time. A nixie tube is an electronic device for displaying numerals or other information. The glass tube contains a wire-mesh anode, and multiple cathodes in the shape of numerals or letters. Applying power to one cathode surrounds it with an orange glow discharge. The tube is filled with a gas at low pressure. Devices like these date back as far as the 1920s, but were first introduced in 1954 by the Burroughs Corporation. 

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