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The Surprisingly Long Life of the Vacuum Tube

72 points by surprisetalk

by chromacity

3 subcomments

I think this is an odd article. It mixes together a variety of technologies that have little in common (gas discharge tubes, CRTs). It doesn't really say anything about the operation of vacuum tubes, their advantages, or disadvantages. And doesn't even really support its own thesis. The reign of vacuum tubes lasted for less than the reign of the transistor and is in no way unusual in the world of electronics.
There are quite a few interesting stories to tell here. Probably the most interesting one is that transistors still underperform vacuum tubes in many respects that would matter to purists, but that don't matter in real life because we learned to compensate for it. Well, except for niche audiophile audiences who don't believe in negative feedback or digital signal processing and want a very linear amplifying component... that they then connect to op-amps, DACs, and ADCs on both sides because that's the only practical way to do it, but there's a performative tube somewhere in between.
Another cool story: there were some "integrated circuit" vacuum tubes!

by somat

0 subcomment

Fun fact, Perhaps the sole remaining general consumer electronics that ships with a vacuum tube is the microwave oven.

by HPsquared

0 subcomment

They are robust in their own way. Resistant to radiation, EMP and static electricity. Just don't drop them.

by tim-projects

1 subcomments

Audio tube compressors are still highly regarded and considered to have superior sound compared to the digital versions

by rexthonyy

1 subcomments

I studied vacuum tubes back when I was in school. What a fascinating thing, the physics of it. It was a cool tech for its time but there is no way they could match the speed of the transistors that followed, it is just physically impossible, but still, it is nostalgically cool.

by dude250711

2 subcomments

Western Electric revives U.S. vacuum tube manufacturing at AXPONA 2026, showcasing 300B and 308B amps and plans for new 12AX7 production:
https://www.ecoustics.com/news/western-electric-axpona-2026