glow tube
- noun
- Specialized
:
tubo de neón
- He replaced the burned-out glow tube in the lamp to restore its bright glow.
Examples
-
The neon glow tube illuminated the dark alley with a vibrant blue light.
-
Below us, the cave narrows into an ethereal blue glowing tube that continues down for another several hundred feet.
Academic text (2004) -
During the science experiment, they used a glow tube filled with argon gas to demonstrate how it produces light.
Synonyms
1
3.5
A glass container filled with neon gas that glows when electricity passes through it
1
6.7
A lamp that makes light when electricity passes between two metal points inside a gas
A lamp that makes light when electricity passes through gas in a glass tube
A lamp that makes light by passing electricity between two metal parts inside a glass tube
A sealed tube where electricity makes the gas inside glow
A small electric light that glows when electricity passes through a gas, often used to show a device is on
How Bright
- Archaic
1
5.3
- Specialized
1
3.6
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositional: 'glow' (gentle light) modifies 'tube' (a cylindrical glass/metal device), so the phrase denotes a tube that emits a glow or light. This adjective+noun pattern is a standard, cross-linguistically common construction, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the meaning even if they haven't seen the technical device before.
Etymology
Glow tube comes from simple glass tubes filled with gas that glow when electricity passes through them. That's why the name means 'a tube that makes light', and the color depends on the gas inside.