A thyratron “scale of two” automatic counter

Abstract

In a previous paper the author discussed a method of using thyratrons for high-speed automatic counting of physical events which are repeated very rapidly. It was shown that a group of, say, four or five thyratrons associated with a mechanical counting meter can be made to record continuously occurrences of events separated by time intervals which are very much shorter than the time required by the mechanical meter to effect its own changes of dial readings. This is made possible by the development of a special “ thyratron ring ” circuit which enables the “ inertialess relay” characteristics of the individual thyratrons to be utilised to the greatest advantage. By using in the circuit a sufficient number of thyratrons, the counting speed can be made independent of the mechanical inertia of the recording mechanism and dependent only on the electrical characteristics of the circuit. The method, as pointed out in the paper, can be used for the recording of any physical event the occurrence of which can be made to apply a voltage impulse to the thyratron counting ring. The means of doing this are various, the choice of a suitable one being dependent upon individual experimental conditions. For the recording of an optical event, for example, the required voltage impulse might be applied to the thyratrons by means of a photoelectric cell used in conjunction with a suitable valve amplifier.