30 Jul
2026
30 Jul
'26
3:16 a.m.
On Thu, Jul 30, 2026 at 12:05 PM Christian Corti via cctalk
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jul 2026, Carey Schug wrote:
Perhaps you should learn the very old-fashioned way of valves/vacuum tubes :-)
There were some very early triodes that deliberately contains residual
gas. See here
https://www.museumoftechnology.org.uk/objects/_expand.php?key=954
There was a little side/top tube containing asbestos that you heated
to release some of said gas that was adsorbed onto the asbestos.
So yes, some valves _do_ contain asbestos. But it would only be a
hazard if the glass was broken.
And if such a valve was ever used in any DEC computer or peripheral I
almost say I'll eat a PDP11!
-tony
i wondered, and ai confirmed, that vacuum tube
computers likely
contained asbestos, but suggested in the vacuum tubes, so probably not
Go back to school and learn the old-fashioned way. Never trust AI, always
verify the results.
Asbestos _in_ vacuum tubes ... *lol*