One of the topics we've covered multiple times at ExtremeTech is the difficulty of continuing to scale semiconductor technology, and the related problem of improving chip performance without ...
A new type of transistor is being developed by scientists at the NASA Ames Research Center that meshes together the best aspect of semiconductors and traditional vacuum-tube technology. This ...
Way back in the salad days of digital computing (the 1940s and '50s), computers were made of vacuum tubes -- big, hot, clunky devices that, when you got right down to it, were essentially glorified ...
Why might an engineer use a vacuum tube over a solid-state transistor? This question is especially interesting since most engineers graduating today do not have a background in vacuum tube circuit ...
Regardless of the mythical qualities that are all too often attributed to vacuum tubes, they are still components that can be damaged and wear out over time. Much like with transistors and kin, they ...
It may not be to everyone's taste, but this brand new monobloc amplifier from McIntosh cleverly blends both vacuum tube and solid-state technology in one chassis. If you’re not a serious audiophile ...
A vacuum tube is just that: a glass tube surrounding a vacuum (an area from which all gases have been removed). What makes it interesting is that when electrical contacts are put on the ends, you can ...