The Geissler tube is a glass tube for demonstrating the principles of electrical discharge. The tube was invented by the German physicist and glassblower Heinrich Geissler in 1857. The Geissler tube was an evacuated glass cylinder with an electrode at each end. Geissler tubes contain a combination of one of the following: rarefied (thinned) gasses such as neon, argon, or air, or conductive liquids or minerals. When a high voltage is applied to the terminals an electrical current flows through the tube. The current will disassociate electrons from the gas molecules, creating ions and when electrons recombine with the ions different lighting effects are created. The light will be characteristic of the material contained within the tube and will be composed of one or more narrow spectral lines. Heinrich Geissler (May 26, 1814 - January 24, 1879) was a German physicist. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Look up Vacuum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Neon (disambiguation). ... General Name, symbol, number argon, Ar, 18 Chemical series noble gases Group, period, block 18, 3, p Appearance colorless Standard atomic weight 39. ... Look up air in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... En [ [ ciencia ] ] y [ [ ingeniería ] ], los conductores son los materiales de los cuales contenga las cargas movibles [ [ electricidad ] ]. Cuando una diferencia potencial eléctrica se impresiona a través de puntos separados en un conductor, las cargas móviles dentro del conductor se fuerzan para moverse, y una corriente el... liquids are things you use when your constapated. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... In electricity, current is the rate of flow of charges, usually through a metal wire or some other electrical conductor. ... This article is about the electrically charged particle. ...

Geissler tubes from the 1911 Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

Orgelbrand Encyclop. (1900, Polish)

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Application

They were mass produced from the 1880s as entertainment devices, with various spherical chambers and decorative serpentine paths formed into the glass tube. When the tube was handled (the terminals were insulated) the shape of the plasma changed. Some tubes were very elaborate and complex in shape and would contain chambers within an outer casing. If these were spun at high speed a visual disk of color was seen due to persistence of vision. (Somewhat similar devices in the form of stationary globes are now produced and sold for personal amusement.) As an educational tool they are also used to demonstrate the movement of electrons and the principles of a vacuum. According to the theory of persistence of vision, the perceptual processes of the brain or the retina of the human eye retains an image for a brief moment. ... Properties The electron (also called negatron, commonly represented as e−) is a subatomic particle. ... Look up Vacuum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Influence

It was observed that under some conditions the glass envelope would itself glow at the positive (anode) end. This glow was attributed to the transmission of a ray from the negative cathode at the opposite end of the device, and so were named cathode rays. William Crookes developed a modification of the Geissler tube into what is known as the Crookes tube to demonstrate and study these rays, later determined to be a stream of electrons. This device was further developed into the cathode ray tube with applications in electronics development and diagnosis, and in radar and television displays. A schematic diagram of a Crookes tube apparatus. ... Sir William Crookes, OM, FRS (17 June 1832 – 4 April 1919) was an English chemist and physicist. ... The Crookes tube is an evacuated glass cone with 3 node elements (one anode and two cathodes). ... For other uses, see Electron (disambiguation). ... Cathode ray tube employing electromagnetic focus and deflection Cutaway rendering of a color CRT: 1. ... This article is about the engineering discipline. ... For other uses, see Radar (disambiguation). ...

Xenon in shaped neon tubes, a derivative of Geissler tubes.

Geissler tubes have had a large impact on the development of many instruments and devices all of which use related vacuum and discharge principles. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 120 KB) Summary Image of a xenon filled discharge tube shaped like the elements atomic symbol. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 120 KB) Summary Image of a xenon filled discharge tube shaped like the elements atomic symbol. ... Neon signs are often used to advertise for hotels, bars and entertainment venues. ...

• Xenon flash lamps (for flash photography),
• Xenon arc lamps (for automobile headlights),
• X-ray tubes,
• sodium vapor lamps of low and high pressure,
• "Neon" signs (both using visible light discharge from neon and other gases and indirectly through phospor excitation from ultraviolet light)
• Mercury vapor lamps,
• Mass spectrometry devices,
• Cathode ray tube (employed in the Oscilloscope (an electronic diagnostic device) and later as a television, radar, and computer display device),
• Electrotachyscope (an early moving picture display device), and
• Fluorescent lamps.

Xenon flash lamp being fired. ... This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedias quality standards. ... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz... A LPS / SOX streetlight at full power A sodium vapor lamp is a gas discharge lamp which uses sodium in an excited state to produce light. ... Neon signs are often used to advertise for hotels, bars and entertainment venues. ... For other uses, see Neon (disambiguation). ... Note: Ultraviolet is also the name of a 1998 UK television miniseries about vampires. ... A Mercury-vapor lamp is a gas discharge lamp which uses mercury in an excited state to produce light. ... Mass spectrometry (previously called mass spectroscopy (deprecated)[1] or informally, mass-spec and MS) is an analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. ... Cathode ray tube employing electromagnetic focus and deflection Cutaway rendering of a color CRT: 1. ... Illustration showing the interior of a cathode-ray tube for use in an oscilloscope. ... For other uses, see Radar (disambiguation). ... A computer display monitor, usually called simply a monitor, is a piece of electrical equipment which displays viewable images generated by a computer without producing a permanent record. ... The electrotachyscope is an 1887 invention of Ottomar Anschütz of Germany which presents the illusion of motion with transparent serial photographs, chronophotographs, arranged on a spinning wheel of fortune or mandala-like glass disc, significant as a technological development in the history of cinema. ... Fluorescent lamps in Shinbashi, Tokyo, Japan Assorted types of fluorescent lamps. ...

See also

People

William Crookes

Devices

Cathode ray tube (CRT), Crookes tube, Induction coil, Neon sign, X-ray tube

Sir William Crookes, OM, FRS (17 June 1832 – 4 April 1919) was an English chemist and physicist. ... Cathode ray tube employing electromagnetic focus and deflection Cutaway rendering of a color CRT: 1. ... The Crookes tube is an evacuated glass cone with 3 node elements (one anode and two cathodes). ... An induction coil or spark coil (archaically known as a Ruhmkorff coil) is a type of disruptive discharge coil. ... Neon signs are often used to advertise for hotels, bars and entertainment venues. ... An X-Ray tube is a vacuum tube designed to produce man made X-Ray photons on demand. ...

External links

• Sparkmuseum: Crookes and Geissler Tubes
• Instruments for Natural Philosophy: Geissler Tubes
• Mike's Electric Stuff: Geissler Tubes
• The Cathode Ray Tube site
• Geissler and Crookes tubes shown working