Explanation
A vacuum tube consists of electrodes in a vacuum in a (usually tubular) insulating heat-resistant envelope. Many tubes have glass envelopes, though some types such as power tubes may have ceramic or metal envelopes. The electrodes are attached to leads which pass through the envelope via an airtight seal. On most tubes, the leads are designed to plug into a tube socket for easy replacement.
The simplest vacuum tubes resemble incandescent light bulbs in that they have a filament sealed in a glass envelope which has been evacuated of all air. When hot, the filament releases electrons into the vacuum: a process called thermionic emission. The resulting negatively charged cloud of electrons is called a space charge. These electrons will be drawn to a metal plate inside the envelope, if the plate (also called the anode) is positively charged relative to the filament (or cathode). The result is a flow of electrons from filament to plate. This cannot work in the reverse direction because the plate is not heated and does not emit electrons. This very simple example described can thus be seen to operate as a diode: a device that conducts current only in one direction. The vacuum tube diode conducts conventional current from plate (anode) to the filament (cathode); this is the opposite direction to the flow of electrons (called electron current).
Vacuum tubes require a large temperature difference between the hot cathode and the cold anode. Because of this, vacuum tubes are inherently power-inefficient; enclosing the tube within a heat-retaining envelope of insulation would allow the entire tube to reach the same temperature, resulting in electron emission from the anode that would counter the normal one-way current. Because the tube requires a vacuum to operate, convection cooling of the anode is typically not possible. Instead anode cooling occurs primarily through black-body radiation and conduction of heat to the outer glass envelope via the anode mounting frame. Cold cathode tubes do exist but are used primarily in lighting systems, where unidirectional power regulation is not the functional purpose of the tube.[citations needed].
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