Unknown apparatus - vacuum tube of some kind?

[Johnmorrison]

TL;DR

Hi - I'm trying to determine what this apparatus is.

Hi - can anyone help me identify what this apparatus is? A vacuum tube of some kind? What are the thin copper discs for? It seems to be missing some components - not sure. Does it hold any value or should I just dispose of it? John in Hope, Maine

 

[berkeman]

Welcome to PF.

Were those two metal discs suspended inside the tube somehow? It does look like a low-pressure apparatus of some sort, with a valve on the tube to allow pumping down and/or introducing some sort of low-pressure gas. Where did you find it?

 

[DaveE]

Odd that it's well sealed at the ends but has big slots cut in the side. It must have connected to some other sealed equipment.

 

[Johnmorrison]

It was left in the shop of the (deceased) previous owner of the house that I purchased some 12 years ago. He was known as a tinkerer. I don't know if he fabricated it himself but I tend to think not - thus I was hoping that it was commercially produced (albeit probably in small quantities) and that someone would recognize what it is. :-)

 

[berkeman]

Can you see how the two metal disc assemblies might have been mounted inside the tube? Does it look like they were mounted with the pointed metal ends sticking out of the tube somehow?

EDIT/ADD -- looking more closely, it looks like there may be inlet/outlet tube fittings on the two ends. Perhaps this was some sort of conductivity detection device for gases flowing through the tube from one end to the other...

 

[Johnmorrison]

It is not at all obvious how the copper discs were integrated...

 

[Baluncore]

The ends look like optical windows. Maybe a cell from a gas analyser.
An IR LED source could be placed at one end with an IR detector at the other.

 

[berkeman]

The ends look like optical windows.

That looks like an optical window, or a gas port to tubing? I can't tell...

 

[marcusl]

That tubing is pretty small to pull a meaningful vacuum, so I vote for pressure—but not very high or the fittings would fly off. Maybe it’s a water flow tube and the disks measure conductivity or voltage breakdown through the open slots?

 

[DaveE]

I was hoping that it was commercially produced

More likely corporate R&D or Academic source. Back in the day when hardware wasn't all IC's there were lots of machine shops that would make one-off experimental stuff like this. They knew what it was and had documentation, but you'd never see it.