Inside the Vacuum Tube | 
|  | | | Title: | Inside the Vacuum Tube | | Author: | John Rider | | Publisher: | Audio Amateur Pubns | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | December, 1945 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 1882580427 / 9781882580422 | | List Price: | $29.95 | | Amazon Price: | $29.95 (via Amazon marketplace seller) | | | |
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Customer Reviews:
• Best In The World At What It Does, The Only Book That Does What It Does 16 November, 2007
"Inside the Vacuum Tube," written in 1945, is the best book in the world at what it does, because to my knowledge it is the only book that does what it does, which is to educate a reader without benefit of basic knowledge of electricity on the fundamentals of vacuum tubes. If you want an original copy of this book, a search of the Internet reveals that it will cost you more than $200; it is fortunate then that it has been reprinted and is available in paperback for $30. It is a most useful starting point for learning about tubes, their construction and their operation, even if you are otherwise experienced in electronics (involving transistors). There is a certain "culture" that surrounds working with tubes, and I don't know how one picks up this knowledge today; certainly it is not taught in schools. By putting you back in time when tubes were in their hey-day, this book fills in some things that no one seems to mention anymore. For example, it is common to hear people who work with tube circuits to refer to the "B+" - the what? In this book you learn that the voltage supplied to the tube heaters is (or was) called the A voltage, the voltage to the plate of the tube was referred to as the B voltage, and the voltage to the grids was called the C voltage. Nice. Now, instead of parroting what everyone else says, you will know where this terminology came from. Likewise with transconductance, the "gm." What's the "m" in gm? Transconductance used to also be called the mutual conductance, which is what I assume the m in gm signifies.
The book takes a reader with no knowledge of basic electricity and qualitatively delves into the physics of what is happening inside a vacuum tube. The discussion of the space charge layer surrounding the cathode is well done, and the author uses it repeatedly in explaining the operation of tubes. The book really is an excellent place to get started. There is a great discussion of I-V characteristics, load lines and dynamic transfer characteristics, concepts that are also used in transistor electronics, but you see how these concepts were developed first with tubes. It is very nice how the author proceeds from a discussion of the diode, to the triode, and then finally to the tetrode and pentode. Understanding the triode is the core material of the book.
So why only 4 stars then? The strength of the book is also its weakness. In attempting to reach a reader without preparation in technical matters, the author takes the time to explain topics that anyone with a high-school education would know; plotting a function, for example. The book begins with cartoon depictions of electrons jumping off the cathode, and these are very nice and creative, up to a point. Einstein said you should make things as simple as possible, but no simpler. After several chapters of cartoons, the author states, (I'm paraphrasing) "OK, from now on we're going to take off the training wheels," but invariably he then says, "But first ..." and he returns to baby talk. While the level of the material in succeeding chapters does get more detailed, the author can't seem to get beyond his role as educator for the hopelessly lost, and so in each chapter it seems he starts over from the beginning in certain respects. He is quite repetitive and wordy; one reason may be because he is loath to use symbols and mathematics. If you can't resort to symbols to represent concepts, you are doomed to repeating the same long-winded explanations. There are a few pitfalls the reader should be aware of. The author's depiction of electric field lines is backwards from modern usage; the author draws field lines in showing what an electron would do, whereas today electric field lines are defined in terms of positive charges. Beware the author's use of negative numbers, as in voltages being "more negative" than others, when in actuality he means the opposite. When the author speaks about negative voltages, for example on the grid of the tube, he often means the absolute magnitude of the voltage.
All in all, however, this is an excellent book and is probably unique. I wish I knew of a nice "second" book on vacuum tubes to read. The present book, Inside the Vacuum Tube, will have prepared you admirably for that next book, whatever it is.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A24HESXASEZ7Y4
• Well Written Basics 08 April, 2008
Inside the Vacuum Tube was written in the late 1940s. It apparently came out of the author's experience in teaching electronics to military personnel during World War 2. The author begins with fundamental concepts of electronics. He then adds discussion of what a vacuum tube is, and some fundamental concepts concerning them. He goes on to discuss Diodes, Triodes, Tetrodes, and Pentodes. He also discusses the Cathode circuit, Power Amplifiers, and miscellaneous vacuum tubes (including the Cathode Ray Tube of television and computer monitor fame).
This is a generally well written book. The author assumes very little about the education of his readers beyond the ability to do high school level algebra. A few of the examples he uses would be more familiar to a farmer than a city dweller though.
The main drawback of the book is the somewhat cyclical discussion of various fundamental concepts. The author brings up the same points a number of different times in the text with only gradually decreasing volume - he'll discuss a concept in one chapter, and then in the next chapter he'll spend a bit less space on the same topic, etc.
Because few textbooks written in the last few decades spend much effort discussing vacuum tubes, this is a good resource for those who want to learn about them. It covers the basic concepts very thoroughly, while giving a good number of clear jumping off points for further research if desired.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3CF1JUCJ7E2LX
• Best Book On Tubes 17 February, 2007
Hands down the best book I've read on tubes. Gives simple explanations on how electrons flow inside the tube. If ever lost I would have to kill for another.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3JTBCW20W9776
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