= Thyratron
{wiki}
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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