magnetron Electronics.
(ˈmægnɪtrɒn)
[f. magnetic a. + -tron]
A diode with a cylindrical anode surrounding a coaxial cathode in which the flow of electrons is controlled by a magnetic field applied parallel to the axis, and now usu. designed to produce microwave pulses of high power.
| 1924 Sci. Monthly XVIII. 650 As the negatively charged grid cuts off the current of the three-element tube, so an external magnetic field will also do it in the two-element tube... Such a device, called a magnetron, was shown. 1945 Times 15 Aug. 2/1 In July 1940, Professor J. T. Randall, of Birmingham, produced a magnetron which was the first high-power generator of centimetric waves in the world. The magnetron remains the heart of every modern Radar equipment. 1958 Engineering 7 Feb. 174/3 The machine [sc. a linear accelerator] is of the travelling-wave type, using radio-frequency power generated by a magnetron valve operating at a frequency of 3,000 Mc/s. 1971 New Scientist 1 Apr. 36/1 Outred is developing microwave cavity sources using very high-powered (kilowatts) magnetrons for the infrared spectroscopy programme. |