I learned all of my tube-ology from my grandfather, who was an old timey radio guy. He was a WW 1 vet who built his first crystal radio in 1914. He was in on tubes from day one, reading about Lee de Forest in the paper. He had vast knowledge of the subject. Why do I tell you this? When I was a kid, I asked grandpa about the shiny spot. He didn't know. You're one up on my grandpa, a man whom I loved and looked up to for many other things besides just electronics. Good job. That's the kind of thing that he respected. If he was here, he'd offer you a martini and a cigar, and probably play some Louis Armstrong records for you. That's what he did with people he liked. CHEERS !!
This video took me on a journey from wondering what's the shiny spot on the vacuum tube to whether I like casual chemistry or not. That's a lot to think about in 3 minutes.
This knowledge was probably a lot more common back when TVs and other electrical appliances still relied on vacuum tubes. Now, of course, the technology has become a lot more advanced, so most of us don't even think about how our appliances work except for a vague conception that it's probably something we wouldn't understand. _Progress_
Awesome vid sir, I'm old enough to remember tubes in everything! I remember testing them on the machine at the drugstore, but pops always threw any with a white top straight out. Now I know why, thanks!
FWIW, you can also take the barium orally for upper GI tract investigations, but the suspension used(at least for a swallow or follow-through contrast) is basically a chalk milkshake, but without any of the enjoyment that phrase suggests. Which is none at all.
Derpimus Maximus having had the pleasure of an upper and lower GI. I can confirm your statement. Neither of which were fun 😊 At least the tests came back negative. 👍🏼
Small addition: While the getter helps to cut down on evacuation demands ( time and level ) in production and takes care of later outgassing of the components inside the tube, an oxide cathode tube - practically all tubes in your run of the mill guitar amp - absolutely needs a getter to be operational for any extended period of time. The operation of these cathodes will produce free oxygen over time when reducing the barium oxide to barium metal in an eloctrolytic process ( this barium on the cathode surface is what makes this type of cathode such a good emitter of electrons ). So it would effectively poison itself if there was no getter to take care of these newly released oxygen molecules.
Short, educational and air tight like the tubes. Keep it that way. The Elements by Theodore Gray...everything that is build up in short chapters is perfect for the toilet. It beats looking at dumb shit on the phone.
The older valves you are referring to probably did have a getter. Flashed getters are not the only kind of getter used an I'm not aware of any receiving tube without a getter. Look at a Svetlana 6550B-3 for example, you can clearly see the getter 'halo' without any deposit on the glass envelope.
The shiny bit was originaly put there so you can catch a glimse of your self wearing the new Colins Sexy Guitars Tshit whilst observing you walves in you quintesential metal amplifire. The bit about it oxydising was descovered later on when one of the walves cracked from all the gain.
This "guitar" channel is generally more talk and less play BUT I love the way it is and want Colin to keep doing it this way!!! Colin is the missing piece of the guitar social network.
But there are 4 thousand holes in Blackburn Lancashire. The holes were rather small but they had to count them all. Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall. I'd love to turn you on. At least that's what John Lennon said.
Mannn.. this video solved my questions. I was playing in a rehearsal and after 10 minutes or so my amp (single ended EL34 on power) just stop sounding. The pilot led was normal, no smell of smoke at all and the fuse was intact. So I came to a tech guy thinking N possibilities. I was wondering if a voltage peak in the studio maybe caused this to te valve. But what the odds of burning only the valve and keeping the rest ok? Anyway. So the technician told me to change the EL34, and confirmed that everything else was ok. Now I'm wainting the valve to arrive..... THEN I found this video... AND just found that my EL34 has that WHITE THING ON TOP!!!! So maybe this happened: in transportation the glass suffered a little damage, not enough to cause a leak. Then I started playing. When heated, the glass expanded, causing more damage to the tiny spot damaged. Then the vaccum gone away. Then the valve fried and the sound stopped. SOOOO, THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO.
Well this is a great video but a bit misleading...the getter isn't really for indication or safety, the reason for the getter is to adsorb/react with any stray, unwanted gas molecules. The inside of the sealed valve can release gases and so the getter is a lifelong tool. Without this the valve's vacuum is compromised. Function and longevity will suffer.
Fabián Riquelme I think adsorbed hydrogen is released along with some other gases. I'd have to reacquaint myself with the details...it's been a long time. So you get ionisation causing conduction and the near vacuum's insulating properties are negated somewhat causing currents to flow within the valve in unpredictable and undesirable routes. So really we want the getter to adsorb these gases more readily than the valve is releasing them. The mention of newer valves using getters is a bit spurious as I personally have very old valves with getters. I know they have been used since the 1950s at least.
Russell Cottier Oh, I see. Is this solely because of adsorption? Because in that case the presence of gases would amount to a production "defect" (although not one that's very controllable). Regarding the video though, I think Colin was explaining the utility of a getter for the person operating the amp, as a telltale signs of gas filtrations.
Fabián Riquelme yeah mostly adsorbed gases I think. Maybe some impurities released from the heater too (but that's a guess). It's technically a kind of safety feature in that Super High voltages can't exist on the glass if the vacuum is maintained and current is limited but it's really not there as an indicator. After all in most cases you will hear the amp fail before you look at the valve. The getter has a function that is needed for efficient operation and longevity maintaining the vacuum. Don't get me wrong COLIN YOU ROCK and talking about valves is awesome even if the specifics are a little bit misleading.
The parallax of a star is defined as half of the angular distance that a star appears to move relative to the celestial sphere as Earth orbits the Sun. The distance being equal to the gap between Colin's intelligence and that of every other human on this planet.
Didn’t know, didn’t care. Now I know, still don’t care... LOL :) Of course you know what I had to do with my dead dog.... _BARIUM!!!_ bahhhhhh, hahahahaaaaaa
Wouldn't the barium also react and combine with what minuscule trace amounts of oxygen that was left over from the vacuum process, and then oxidize and thus convert what tiny amount of pure gaseous oxygen left into a solid oxide film, which being stuck to the glass envelope, would keep the oxide separate from the active metallic components of the valve/tube, extending, if only slightly, the service life of the valve/tube?
Perhaps maybe it's an across the pond thing? My brother's a chemist and my other brother took several chem classes for his lab sciences and I swear I've never heard it before. I mean it makes a certain amount of sense as a nickname for the science. It just struck me as also really odd. Either way another excellent video.
fyi barium is also given by ivs, and believ it or not even when given by ivs it still has the exact same taste as when you drink it. or maybe that was all in my head. but i swear i could taste that crap the entire 2 hours i lie upon that xray table hooked up to a barrium iv yuck lol.
I learned all of my tube-ology from my grandfather, who was an old timey radio guy. He was a WW 1 vet who built his first crystal radio in 1914. He was in on tubes from day one, reading about Lee de Forest in the paper. He had vast knowledge of the subject.
Why do I tell you this?
When I was a kid, I asked grandpa about the shiny spot.
He didn't know.
You're one up on my grandpa, a man whom I loved and looked up to for many other things besides just electronics. Good job.
That's the kind of thing that he respected.
If he was here, he'd offer you a martini and a cigar, and probably play some Louis Armstrong records for you. That's what he did with people he liked.
CHEERS !!
I have missed you❤️
This video took me on a journey from wondering what's the shiny spot on the vacuum tube to whether I like casual chemistry or not. That's a lot to think about in 3 minutes.
get on watching Cody's Lab my dude.
I really like the subjects you choose for your videos. No I’ve never really wondered what that was... until you told me.
Leo Ash well said
This knowledge was probably a lot more common back when TVs and other electrical appliances still relied on vacuum tubes. Now, of course, the technology has become a lot more advanced, so most of us don't even think about how our appliances work except for a vague conception that it's probably something we wouldn't understand.
_Progress_
As Arthur C Clarke said "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"
Awesome vid sir, I'm old enough to remember tubes in everything! I remember testing them on the machine at the drugstore, but pops always threw any with a white top straight out. Now I know why, thanks!
FWIW, you can also take the barium orally for upper GI tract investigations, but the suspension used(at least for a swallow or follow-through contrast) is basically a chalk milkshake, but without any of the enjoyment that phrase suggests.
Which is none at all.
Derpimus Maximus having had the pleasure of an upper and lower GI. I can confirm your statement. Neither of which were fun 😊 At least the tests came back negative. 👍🏼
Derpimus Maximus I dunno, tastes good if you can't taste
Thank you Colin!
Good info, never thought about it, and I love tube amps...
4/2023: Excellent and educational as always. Thanks
Did you hear about the sick chemist?
They couldn't Helium, and they couldn't Curium, so finally they had to Barium. ;)
Another great, technically accurate video! Wonderful!
Highly informative videos with fancy accent!! Love the content keep it up
Malav potato annihilator dont annihilate my potatos pls
This is actually VERY interesting information!
Love your vids. Bottoms up!
Freakin awesome vid... great work.... always a pleasure my friend!
Thank you for the knowledge, you sexy beast, you.
Small addition: While the getter helps to cut down on evacuation demands ( time and level ) in production and takes care of later outgassing of the components inside the tube, an oxide cathode tube - practically all tubes in your run of the mill guitar amp - absolutely needs a getter to be operational for any extended period of time. The operation of these cathodes will produce free oxygen over time when reducing the barium oxide to barium metal in an eloctrolytic process ( this barium on the cathode surface is what makes this type of cathode such a good emitter of electrons ). So it would effectively poison itself if there was no getter to take care of these newly released oxygen molecules.
Short, educational and air tight like the tubes.
Keep it that way.
The Elements by Theodore Gray...everything that is build up in short chapters is perfect for the toilet.
It beats looking at dumb shit on the phone.
onpsxmember I second this.
The shit should be in the bowl, not on your phone. I think you're doing it wrong.
But it's so worth it, gloating over the tears of apple fanboys.
Very interesting👍, great video....now I know
I have that exact Element book!!!
Kids : "grandad what's Collin from csguitars"
Me: *"a genius, a legend, a god"*
Tom Clarkson the mesiah of gain
I thought it was to spread the heat evenly to prevent a hot spot at the top of the valve, but happy to stand corrected :)
Good to know
"Hey vSauce, Colin here."
The older valves you are referring to probably did have a getter. Flashed getters are not the only kind of getter used an I'm not aware of any receiving tube without a getter. Look at a Svetlana 6550B-3 for example, you can clearly see the getter 'halo' without any deposit on the glass envelope.
Thank you Collin...I always wondered about that. So cheers and...
Bottoms up!💩👍
The shiny bit was originaly put there so you can catch a glimse of your self wearing the new Colins Sexy Guitars Tshit whilst observing you walves in you quintesential metal amplifire. The bit about it oxydising was descovered later on when one of the walves cracked from all the gain.
Why yes, I did say Barium. Thank you for taking the subject further.
This "guitar" channel is generally more talk and less play BUT I love the way it is and want Colin to keep doing it this way!!! Colin is the missing piece of the guitar social network.
What is the orange amp looking thing with your logo on top the Marshall in the background?
Bottoms up!
Good 'ol Barry Um. Nice guy, still owes me money tho.
Yay Barry Barry Barry. Wonderful appearance. But as an aside - can a vacuum leave a tube?
Cool, thank you
Can you do a video on how to bias a tube/valve amp?
Holy crap, I never knew Mullard had a factory in Blackburn. I didn't know anything cool EVER came out of Blackburn!
But there are 4 thousand holes in Blackburn Lancashire. The holes were rather small but they had to count them all.
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
I'd love to turn you on.
At least that's what John Lennon said.
Can you do more random facts videos. This was awesome dude
What dies Colin do when he needs to do laundry? He buys ALL THE GAIN!!!!
You rule Colin
The getter spot on one of my 12ax7's died. What causes tubes to spontaniously crack?
"Wet physics" Hahaha! Top lad!
I've had an x-ray of my digestive system, and all I had to do was eat a radioactive peanut butter sandwich.
Lucky me.
Yikes. I do not want to getter xray like that. I wonder if the barium will adsorb excess gasses after a can of baked beans though.
Mannn.. this video solved my questions. I was playing in a rehearsal and after 10 minutes or so my amp (single ended EL34 on power) just stop sounding. The pilot led was normal, no smell of smoke at all and the fuse was intact. So I came to a tech guy thinking N possibilities. I was wondering if a voltage peak in the studio maybe caused this to te valve. But what the odds of burning only the valve and keeping the rest ok? Anyway. So the technician told me to change the EL34, and confirmed that everything else was ok. Now I'm wainting the valve to arrive..... THEN I found this video... AND just found that my EL34 has that WHITE THING ON TOP!!!! So maybe this happened: in transportation the glass suffered a little damage, not enough to cause a leak. Then I started playing. When heated, the glass expanded, causing more damage to the tiny spot damaged. Then the vaccum gone away. Then the valve fried and the sound stopped. SOOOO, THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO.
i can’t believe you got an enema into a video about tubes
Bottoms up
"No? I'm gonna tell you anyway! :D " LMAO
How does vacuum leave the tube?
Yamil Yamil ....Wellllll, every adventure starts with _that first step!_ :)
Crivvens, if Chemistry is Wet Physics, what do you call Biology (other than "Away outside and count the railings")?
'Colouring in' usually, but I like your suggestion too.
Biology is "the one with the cute girls". Or at least it was when I was at school/university.
The literal science of life ;)
Organic Physics
Wet chemistry
I understood nothing. Loved it!
Nobody:
Absolutely nobody:
Blue thingy:DiD sOmEoNe SaY BaRiUm?
What was said ecc83 from
It's called a Gettysburg?
Acquired from the Curiosity Box no doubt
"bottoms up"
ahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Evveryone knnows its a bad idea to crank your power amp tubes up all the way, (right?) but what about your preamp tubes?
"A Shiny Spot" -yeah, that's the whole reason I watched this video.
What is the show cesium and iodine love watching together?
A: CSI
nope.. not CSG :(
you know your trade brother
*smashing*
BARRY!!!
😃😃😃
You're not wearing an England shirt for the world cup, Colin?
JDODify he's a scot
Cuz METAL dudes like shiny stuff? PURE METAL!
/w\SlayeriZer/w\
thanks for sharing that knowledge!
I wonder if you have an engineering background or not?
I have a master's degree in physics and work as an electronics technician.
CSGuitars cheers from a computers engineering student! ;)
love your stuff please keep it up it helps us a lot
thanks again!
i thought the silver spot was to try to reduce noise ... had no idea about the actual function
the silver is caused by the getter being fired to get rid of the last of oxygen in valve
Well this is a great video but a bit misleading...the getter isn't really for indication or safety, the reason for the getter is to adsorb/react with any stray, unwanted gas molecules. The inside of the sealed valve can release gases and so the getter is a lifelong tool.
Without this the valve's vacuum is compromised. Function and longevity will suffer.
Russell Cottier
What gases can come from the inside of a valve?
Fabián Riquelme I think adsorbed hydrogen is released along with some other gases.
I'd have to reacquaint myself with the details...it's been a long time.
So you get ionisation causing conduction and the near vacuum's insulating properties are negated somewhat causing currents to flow within the valve in unpredictable and undesirable routes.
So really we want the getter to adsorb these gases more readily than the valve is releasing them.
The mention of newer valves using getters is a bit spurious as I personally have very old valves with getters. I know they have been used since the 1950s at least.
Russell Cottier
Oh, I see. Is this solely because of adsorption? Because in that case the presence of gases would amount to a production "defect" (although not one that's very controllable).
Regarding the video though, I think Colin was explaining the utility of a getter for the person operating the amp, as a telltale signs of gas filtrations.
Fabián Riquelme yeah mostly adsorbed gases I think. Maybe some impurities released from the heater too (but that's a guess).
It's technically a kind of safety feature in that Super High voltages can't exist on the glass if the vacuum is maintained and current is limited but it's really not there as an indicator. After all in most cases you will hear the amp fail before you look at the valve.
The getter has a function that is needed for efficient operation and longevity maintaining the vacuum.
Don't get me wrong COLIN YOU ROCK and talking about valves is awesome even if the specifics are a little bit misleading.
Russell Cottier
Well, thanks man, I learnt something new.
The parallax of a star is defined as half of the angular distance that a star appears to move relative to the celestial sphere as Earth orbits the Sun. The distance being equal to the gap between Colin's intelligence and that of every other human on this planet.
neato
Toobs!
Did someone say Barium?
shiny spot? more like bald spot.
Bald spots are shiny too.
Nepple
Noice
Didn’t know, didn’t care. Now I know, still don’t care... LOL :)
Of course you know what I had to do with my dead dog.... _BARIUM!!!_ bahhhhhh, hahahahaaaaaa
Wet physics... :-)
"The vacuum has left the tube"
Hmmm...
Prehistoricman we better watch out for roaming vacuums....
Aye haet whein tha choobs churn whait.
Huh. Huh uh Huh. Huh. You said nipple
😂🤣Bottoms up
If your tube sucks, perhaps they recycleld the barium
Wet Physics :-D :-D :-D
BARIUM? I HARDLY KNOW HIM
Wouldn't the barium also react and combine with what minuscule trace amounts of oxygen that was left over from the vacuum process, and then oxidize and thus convert what tiny amount of pure gaseous oxygen left into a solid oxide film, which being stuck to the glass envelope, would keep the oxide separate from the active metallic components of the valve/tube, extending, if only slightly, the service life of the valve/tube?
1:49
Doh! Musta' been hittin' at the time...
Who the hell used to call chemistry "wet physics"? First time I've heard that.
You must be a chemist, we don't tend to say it to your face.
Perhaps maybe it's an across the pond thing? My brother's a chemist and my other brother took several chem classes for his lab sciences and I swear I've never heard it before. I mean it makes a certain amount of sense as a nickname for the science. It just struck me as also really odd. Either way another excellent video.
Can this video stay at zero dislikes.
Did yea know , when yea sneeze , it comes out yer nose at 100 miles an hour .. just like that... It's a well known fact 😉👌
You sure know a lot about enemas...
Wet physics....😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
wet physics...XD
Wet physics
This guy took beyond the knowledge of all effects and guitars.
Wet physics.
I’m your 5 th cousins
But it's a valve why does the title say 'tube'? I thought you were Scottish mate!
Because the algorithm favours America
@@ScienceofLoud Makes sense.
fyi barium is also given by ivs, and believ it or not even when given by ivs it still has the exact same taste as when you drink it. or maybe that was all in my head. but i swear i could taste that crap the entire 2 hours i lie upon that xray table hooked up to a barrium iv yuck lol.