I am about to buy a Nixie Tube clock, and in doing so recalled that I had found a sort of light bulb long ago that seemed to work on the same principal--neon gas surface glow.
The bulb (which I am hoping to find in the junk pile) was found in a house which we, as electricians, were renovating post sale. Everything was being gutted. The previous owner was some sort of electrical hobbyist. We found a strange bulb, "standard" base light like 100w incandescent, clear, nearly "normal" shape but only about 2.5 inch across. In place of a filament was a split metallic disk about the size of a dime. When energized (110v) it emitted an orange surface glow with a slight violet cast. I think it also strobed(like a fluorescent). My question is--what would that have been for??? It was very dim, probably less that a typical candle.
Any thoughts?
