Abstract: A luminous tube is provided with three color producing inner tubes and is mounted within a clear outer tube. The luminous gas filling the outer tube also fills the open-ended inner tubes. Each of the color-producing tubes has an electrode to enable the current density to be independently controlled, and thus control of the light-intensity emitted from each of the color-producing tubes. A luminous tube may also be constructed with at least one tube mounted inside an outer tube within a common luminous gas, where the inner tube houses an electrode and has a restricted diameter opening to produce a high-intensity luminous discharge.

Abstract: A luminous gas filled tube system has a direct current source, a pulse transformer secondary winding, the emitter-collector path of a transistor, and the gas filled tube connected in series. The voltage of the source is below the ionization potential of the gas in the tube but adequate to supply current when the gas is ionized. A pulse source is connected for selectively generating a high voltage pulse in the winding of magnitude such that, when added to the voltage from the source, the ionization potential of the gas is exceeded. A starter circuit is provided for selectively actuating the pulse source to initiate ionization of the gas in the tube. A variable resistor is provided for selecting the amount of current flowing in the series circuit at any level below a maximum rating of the transistor.