History and role of vacuum tube components: diodes, triodes and pentodes

Abstract :
The birth of electronics can be traced back to the invention of the first electronic vacuum tubes, the diode in 1903 and the triode in 1906. Pushed by the development of radio communications and originally derived from incandescent light bulbs, they became components of tremendous importance. Vacuum tubes were mass-produced for more than 60 years and constituted the backbone of the electronics industry, before being completely overshadowed by transistors and solid state devices. In this seminar, we are going to discuss the historical context in which those devices were developed, as well as their most important characteristics. Tetrodes and especially pentodes will be introduced and discussed, too. We will terminate with some examples representing typical uses of such components in consumer and specialized circuits, to illustrate how such components gave their essential contribution to shape the world of the twentieth century, both from a technical and cultural point of view.