A thyratron is a gas-filled electronic switching tube in which a control electrode triggers a conducting discharge between cathode and anode. The control signal governs the onset of conduction, allowing a comparatively small trigger to switch a larger supplied pulse of electric current.
Once the discharge is established, the control electrode does not act like a continuously adjustable linear gain control. The external circuit must bring the current down sufficiently for the gas to recover its nonconducting state. Trigger timing, recovery and the load circuit therefore determine repeated-pulse behavior. This distinguishes a thyratron switch from a linear electronic amplifier.
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A thyratron is a type of gas-filled tube that acts as a high-speed switch and is used in various electronic applications, particularly in power control systems. It is a type of triggered gas discharge device, which means it can be turned on by a small triggering pulse applied to one of its electrodes, allowing a much larger current to flow between the other electrodes.