Vacuum Tubes

The age of electronics began with the invention of the vacuum tube.

Vacuum tubes are able to control a large current flow with a small voltage.

Amplification provides the basis of electronics.

During the first half of the 20th century, vacuum tubes were the primary components of electronic devices.

Although tubes allowed great advances, they were limited by three factors:

• Tubes are large
• Tubes have a short lifetime
• Tubes require large amounts of power