Digitron

/ˈdɪdʒɪtrɑːn/ noun

Definition

An electronic tube or display device used in early digital instruments and calculators to show numerical digits.

Etymology

From 'digit' + '-tron' (suffix from 'electron,' meaning electronic device). Emerged in the 1950s-60s as an alternative to earlier mechanical numerical displays.

Kelly Says

Digitron tubes were the glowing predecessors to LED and LCD displays—old digital clocks and meters would glow with this ghostly green or red light from heated filaments, like tiny lanterns showing numbers!

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