The Inverted Vacuum Tube, a Voltage-Reducing Power Amplifier

By interchanging the functions of the grid and plate of the usual vacuum tube a voltage-reducing power amplifier is obtained. The usual vacuum tube acts as a voltage-increasing power amplifier. The static curves of the inverted vacuum tube are similar in form to the corresponding curves of the ordinary vacuum tube, and the theory of the inverted vacuum tube is analogous in all respects to the usual vacuum-tube theory, the only difference being reduction instead of amplification of voltage. It is relatively simple to construct an inverted vacuum tube with wide clearances between plate and the rest of the tube, so that potentials of hundreds of thousands of volts can be applied to the plate, while the effect of this high voltage stepped down in almost any desired ratio is obtained in a low-potential circuit.