Geissler Tube - Influence

Influence

It was observed that under some conditions the glass envelope would itself glow at the positive (anode) end. This glow was attributed to the transmission of a ray from the negative cathode at the opposite end of the device, and so were named cathode rays. William Crookes developed a modification of the Geissler tube into what is known as the Crookes tube to demonstrate and study these rays, later determined to be a stream of electrons. This device was further developed into the cathode ray tube with applications in electronics development and diagnosis, and in radar and television displays.

Geissler tubes have had a large impact on the development of many instruments and devices all of which use related vacuum and discharge principles.

• Xenon flash lamps (for flash photography),
• Xenon arc lamps (for automobile headlights),
• X-ray tubes,
• sodium vapor lamps of low and high pressure,
• "Neon" signs (both using visible light discharge from neon and other gases and indirectly through phospor excitation from ultraviolet light)
• Mercury vapor lamps,
• Mass spectrometry devices,
• Cathode ray tube (employed in the oscilloscope and later as a television, radar, and computer display device),
• Electrotachyscope (an early moving picture display device), and
• Fluorescent lamps.