The 7AK7 is a pentode vacuum tube (thermionic valve). According to its manufacturer, Sylvania, it was "designed for service in electronic computers".[1]
The tube was developed in 1948,[2] designed at the request of L. D. Wilson for use in the Whirlwind computer.[3]
Significant attention was directed towards its manufacturing process in order to ensure the part's
reliability.[4] Dubbed the "computer tube",[5] it became a popular tube for computers for a while.[2] IBM, however, switched to more compact miniature tubes, starting with the IBM 604 in 1948.
^Sylvania. Engineering Data Service. 7AK7. July 1953.
^ abGreen, Tom (2010). Bright Boys: The Making of Information Technology. CRC Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-1568814766.
^Wilson, L. D. (1954). "Tube Reliability in the Univac". Proceedings of the National Electronics Conference. Vol. 10. National Engineering Conference, Incorporated. pp. 699–703.
^
David R. Brown, T. F. Clough, and P. Youtz. Investigation of 7AK7 Processing, Emporium, Pa., March 2, 1948.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.3/38986
^Haigh, Thomas; Priestley, Mark; Ropefir, Crispin (2016). ENIAC in Action: Making and Remaking the Modern Computer. MIT Press. p. 211. ISBN 9780262334419.
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