|
Langmuir's research for General Electric involved testing the effect of gas in light bulbs. Not being able to improve the vacuum he worked by adding extra gas and noting the results. Extrapolating backwards he predicted the effect of a hard vacuum.
To make a hard vacuum he improved the design of the Gaede diffusion pump. With a conventional vacuum backing pump and the diffusion pump a hard vacuum became possible.
His discovery in this area of research on lamps showed that by using a purified inert gas at low pressure the life of the lamp was extended. Such incandescent light bulbs became the international standard.
Turning his attention to the early Audions in the lab and applying the results gained from his earlier work he guessed that the variable performance of the Audion could be due to lack of rigour in manufacture. Additionally his work identified that de Forest's idea that the gas was essential to the operation of his Audion was incorrect and in fact a hard vacuum was the key to success and increased amplification.
His work initially improved the Fleming Diode to a hard vacuum rectifier he called a kenotron (keno Greek for empty and tron meaning device) and he found that these devices could be used at high voltage and current. His improved Audion he named a pliotron (plio Greek for more as in amplification).
| 