110 histórias, 110 objetos (110 anos do Técnico)

The kenotron is exhibited in the Faraday Museum, at Técnico – Alameda campus. Its history is intertwined with some of the school’s historical moments, in 1962: Manuel Alves Marques would become the first person to get a PhD in electrical engineering from Técnico. He studied the molecular vibrations around certain metals and created an installation to apply the X-ray diffraction technique. The kenotron, a vacuum rectifier that was used to provide high voltage DC for its operation, was used in the same installation. It was used by students until the late 1970s and survived a flood in a basement until it could reach 2023 and tell its story.

• Acknowledgements:
  Isabel Cabaço
  Moisés Piedade
  Museu Faraday

Episode only available in Portuguese in: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Anchor.fm

Further reading and additional audio in the Portuguese version of this webpage.