Dekatron
(ˈdɛkətrɒn)
[f. Gr. δεκα- deca- + -tron.]
The proprietary name of any of several gas-filled multi-electrode counting tubes, each containing a central anode and a set of ten inter-connected cathodes. Also attrib.
| 1950 Bacon & Pollard in Electronic Engin. XXII. 173 (title) The Dekatron. A new cold cathode counting tube. Ibid., A range of ‘Dekatron’ tubes has been designed which comprises..three types of multi-electrode cold-cathode tubes. 1951 Electronic Engin. XXIII. 85 These valves (Dekatrons) are gas filled tubes which have ten stable glow positions. 1958 Engineering 14 Feb. 201/3 The count is therefore shown on dekatron tubes in which the glow rotates through ten positions on each of three tubes which count the hundreds, tens and units respectively. 1963 B. Fozard Instrumentation Nucl. Reactors viii. 77 These are multi-electrode gas-filled scaling tubes commonly arranged to give, for nuclear particle counting applications, a scaling factor per tube of ten (hence the name Dekatron). |