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  Michael Moorrees

  14 years ago

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  I kinda object to the term 'pre-digital'. The circuits that ran that nixie instrument, are in fact DIGITAL, by the strict definition of that term. Digital means discrete states, which is required, else that instrument won't even work. It does not necessarily mean that the unit was made out of digital logic chips, like TTL.
  
  But I suspect you mean pre-digital, as in consumer electronics. I'll give you that, because when that instrument was made, all consumer electronics was still analog. CD players even had not come out yet. No MP3 players. No Ipods. No cell phones (analog or digital). No HD TVs. No DVDs. The first personal computers, however, did arrive, when nixies where still being sold. See the January 1975 Popular Electronics issue. No it wasn't an Apple II, though that one dominated the market, until IBM got into the game (see Triumph of the Nerds). There was, however, the Internet, but you could get on, unless you were a big University (or other such institution), and the interface was anything but friendly. The Internet wasn't open to the general public, and commercial users until 1992. Before Clinton got into the White House (January 20, 1993), before you give him credit.
  

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  ScienceWorksPleaseUseIt

  14 years ago

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  In some Russian nixie tubes, the 5 is an upside-down 2 and both numerals have a quirky shape. How's that for economy of design?
  
  eMGe, they do use make light by gas discharge and not by heating up tungsten as in an incandescent light bulb. Tungsten is wolfram in some languages. What's yours?
  
  The extra 8 goes in the middle and acts as a second anode, making the digits in back about as bright as the digits in front.

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  corey

  14 years ago

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  @eMGe Uh, they are exactly neon tubes, in the sense of being tubes, filled with neon.

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  buntklicker.de

  14 years ago

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  Yes, saw those often enough when I was a kid. What's funny about them?
  
  Why there are two eights? Meh ... maybe they blew out more often than the other digits because they have more surface area and thus produce more heat?

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  Scott

  14 years ago

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  Oh, and the extra 8 is a wire running down to the anode. It needs to be in the middle, and using an 8 makes it mostly disappear behind the other 8 that's right in front of it.

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  Scott

  14 years ago

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  eMGe-
  
  They are Nixies, neon filled cold cathode tubes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixie_tube

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  k

  14 years ago

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  @eMGe: the reason why there are 2 eights is in the evilmadscientist article this one is based on:
  
  >The individual numbers are held apart by ceramic spacer beads. Notice that there is an extra eight, but upside down. It is the one with the wire sticking out. That one was used as a wire, and did not light up.

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  eMGe

  14 years ago

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  Hello,
  nice post, i like the font. but these are no neon tubes, looks like wolfram numbers in a vacuum bulb to me.
  Did you know why there two 8s?
  

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