Signedon tube: MADE IN BOSTON / BY / MACALASTER AND WIGGIN
on tube: Victor TRADEMARK
FunctionThis is an early x-ray tube that needed an optimal gas pressure inside. For this reason it has a side tube with asbestos that when heated increases the gas pressure inside. As for the tube operation itself, it has a concave cathode that helped focus the electrons on the target. The target is at a 45 degree angle, made of heavy tungsten, and is where the x-rays are produced by the colliding electrons. There is an additional anode behind the target which was thought to improve these gas tubes' performance.
ProvenanceFrom the Boston Museum of Science.