What *is* a 'getter' though? And what does it actually *do*? *EDIT - Wikipedia [...

grkvlt on Oct 2, 2016 | parent | context | favorite | on: The Art of Making a Nixie Tube [video]

What is a 'getter' though? And what does it actually do?

EDIT - Wikipedia [1] says it's a strip of (barium?) metal that is evaporated to react with any remaining gas/moisture particles in the tube and deposit them on the surface safely. It causes the shiny metallic film seen at the top of some tubes, I think?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getter

rzzzt on Oct 2, 2016 [–]

You are right, another article touches on this topic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_tube#Vacuum