Earliest possible vacuum tube
- Thread starter Jalve
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- technology vacuum tube
I suppose Edison or Marconi could have invented it earlier. The question is what exactly would they use it for?
Not before the discovery of vacuum, or electric batteries, and they'd just use it as a light bulb.
ComradeHuxley
Donor
So lets stick with Edison. What immidate use could an vacuum tube have. Well an amplifier powering loudspeaker would make the those two things much more usefull:
Théâtrophone ("the theatre phone") was a telephonic distribution system available in portions of Europe that allowed the subscribers to listen to opera and theatre performances over the telephone lines. The théâtrophone evolved from a Clément Ader invention, which was first demonstrated in 1881, in Paris. Subsequently, in 1890, the invention was commercialized by Compagnie du Théâtrophone, which continued to operate until 1932. (wiki)
Telephone Newspapers, introduced in the 1890s, transmitted news and entertainment to subscribers over telephone lines. They were the first example of electronic broadcasting, although only a few were established, most commonly in European cities. These systems predated the development, in the 1920s, of radio broadcasting. They were eventually supplanted by radio stations, because radio signals could more easily cover much wider areas with higher quality audio, without incurring the costs of a telephone line infrastructure. (wiki)
Instead of being forced to use headphones the entire household can now sit around the speaker phone and listen to music and news. Basically an early subscription cable radio. Certainly something Edison would love to commercially exploit
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Also a great use a vacuum tube has is electrical recording, which i have a thread on: https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...st-commercial-type-of-sound-recording.551738/So lets stick with Edison. What immidate use could an vacuum tube have. Well an amplifier powering loudspeaker would make the those two things much more usefull:
Théâtrophone ("the theatre phone") was a telephonic distribution system available in portions of Europe that allowed the subscribers to listen to opera and theatre performances over the telephone lines. The théâtrophone evolved from a Clément Ader invention, which was first demonstrated in 1881, in Paris. Subsequently, in 1890, the invention was commercialized by Compagnie du Théâtrophone, which continued to operate until 1932. (wiki)
Telephone Newspapers, introduced in the 1890s, transmitted news and entertainment to subscribers over telephone lines. They were the first example of electronic broadcasting, although only a few were established, most commonly in European cities. These systems predated the development, in the 1920s, of radio broadcasting. They were eventually supplanted by radio stations, because radio signals could more easily cover much wider areas with higher quality audio, without incurring the costs of a telephone line infrastructure. (wiki)
Instead of being forced to use headphones the entire household can now sit around the speaker phone and listen to music and news. Basically an early subscription cable radio. Certainly something Edison would love to commercially exploit