[sdiy] box of tubes - mercury revisited

[Antti Huovilainen]

On Fri, 28 Apr 2006, Scott Gravenhorst wrote:

> Tubes which use mercury to enhance conduction are usually power tubes. 
> They contain something called a "getter" which is used to attract the

More than that, they're usually high power rectifier diodes. We're talking 
about kilowatt power here.

Normal tubes found in guitar amps and similar low power devices shouldn't 
contain any mercury. The getters are usually barium (see 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getter).

Antti

"No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow"
   -- Lt. Cmdr. Ivanova