What is this thing?

[AviatorTom]

Decades ago, these things were found in virtually every electronic device. The world's first electronic computer used thousands of these. Today, they are rarely used, though they are still found in vintage radios and stereo sound amplifiers, for example.

Do you know what this thing is called?

Updates

+1 y

I'm impressed that so many people correctly identified it as a VACUUM TUBE. You can still find them in high-power electronics, although most of their applications have been replaced by transistors and integrated circuits (chips).

I know a guy who is a music aficionado and he insists that his amplifier contains vacuum tubes, not transistors. He likes his music really loud, and he says that vacuum tube introduce very little distortion, compared to transistors.

[MCheetah]

That's an old fashioned silicon glass dildo that women in the 1940s and 50s used. You see, because they were slaving away for a man all day, they needed to have quick and easy access to them, so they smuggled them in electronic devices, because electronic devices were like the size of SUV's back then!

Anyway, for real, that's a preamp vacuum tube. What all those knobs on the old fashioned devices controlled.

[exitseven]

It is a vacuum tube. It was a part of TVs and radios for years before the transistor was developed in 1953. Ironically these are still in use today in high end stereo equipment. My friend used to repair these old devices. A lot of musicians preferred this equipment because they thought the sound was richer and warmer. He worked for a lot of the recording studios in the area.

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO😎😎

[StephanieGirl75]

A vacuum tube, also called a valve in British English, is an electronic device used in many older model radios, television sets, and amplifiers to control electric current flow. The cathode is heated, as in a light bulb, so it will emit electrons. This is called thermionic emission

[Jessica405]

A thermionic valve. Known colloquially in UK as a "bottle". Also as a vaccuum tube. Still used a lot, especially in high powered transmitters. Comes in several different types such as diode, triode, pentode etc.

[Jessica405]

Also still found in some hifi systems. Enthusiasts say that an amp using valves has a "warmer" sound.

[Jessica405]

Thank you for MHG!

[purplepoppy]

They used to be called valves in the UK and were notorious for blowing. Despite then not being found in tvs for decades Whenever a TV breaks old people will say "it's the valve"

[MCheetah]

@purplepoppy, "notorious for blowing"

That's literally what she said!

[ArrowheadSW]

Vacuum tubes!! Like you say, they are rarely used now, but they still are. It is my understanding that you can even order replacements for ones that have burned out.

[Anonymous]

This is what you have there is called a tube. I'm not seen any of those since the seventies. They were receivers transmitters resistors and I started getting smaller. The chips have taken the place of these tubes. They hold more memory and do what you need to do faster and better.

[Likes2drive]

A vacuum tube, was used in TVs radios amateur radios and pretty much everything back then that was electronic until transistors came along

[Likes2drive]

I also have a tube amplifier for my music, it’s a hybrid one because it uses solid state preamp but the tubes are used for the output amplifier and sounds a lot better and it even uses Bluetooth, also use it for my turntable

[AviatorTom]

Very nice!

[slatyb]

I have an Acurus amp that is pretty old, but it's solid state. No tubes, just a big printed circuit board.

[Anonymous]

Reminds of trips to t. v. repair shop.
I never realized I was a redneck growing up till Jeff Foxworthy created the bit "If you own a TV. That sits on top of a broken t. v. ... you might be a redneck". Seems like we were always replacing those things.

[genericname85]

It literally says on the thing. Just put what it says on the thing into Google.

[jamesgoldman]

Values, very expensive things to find now from what I've read

[Shamalien]

Vacuum tube transistor. In a radio it would be an amp though.

[BCRanger10]

I've seen those before. It's called a... MacGuffin?

[Andres77]

Isn't MacGuffin a clan in Brave?

[BCRanger10]

@Andres77 Maybe? A MacGuffin is actually a plot device in storytelling. It's an instigating person, place, or thing that gets the plot moving, but isn't strictly vital to it afterwards. For example, Character A takes a box to the post office. He gets there and then afterwards when he's in line, he sees Character B getting kidnapped in the parking lot. Character A is an off-duty cop or former soldier, so he goes to save Character B. As it turns out, Character B is on a secret diplomatic mission. The box Character A was shipping is a "MacGuffin".

As for the actual item Tom posted, it's a tube of some sort, but I forget what specifically it's called.

[Andres77]

Thanks for the education.
I'd never heard that before.

[BCRanger10]

@Andres77 sure thing. I didn't know about it myself either until I came across the greatest film critic of all time, The Critical Drinker.

[Andres77]

@BCRanger10
Will Jordan?

[BCRanger10]

@Andres77 yes, also a published author whose books I would so love to read now.

[Citizenkirk]

It looks like a vacuum tube.

[douride2]

Looks like some sort of an electronic tube.

[Andres77]

Vacuum tube is all I've got.

[madgoat]

Yes. But do you?

[AviatorTom]

Of course I do. As a teenager, I used these to build radios from kits.

[madgoat]

Never had a kit but I remember they were available. Still are I imagine.

[serious]

Never seen anything like this.

[DonkeyDan]

Vacuum tube.

[BeMuse]

vacuum tube

[BeMuse]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TttHkDRuyZw

[KrakenAttackin]

Capacitor or Rectifier?

[AviatorTom]

Nice try... close but not quite

[Pterodon]

Vacuum tube