The Additron was an electron tube designed by Dr. Josef Kates

Josef Kates

Dr. Josef Kates is a Canadian engineer whose achievements include designing the first digital game-playing machine, and the world's first automated traffic signalling system.-Background:...

, circa 1950, to replace the several individual electron tubes and support components required to perform the function of a single bit digital full adder. Dr. Kates developed the Additron with the intention of increasing the likelihood of success and reliability while reducing the size, power consumption and complexity of the University of Toronto Electronic Computer, a.k.a UTEC

UTEC

UTEC was a computer built at the University of Toronto in the early 1950s. It was one of the first working computers in the world, although only built in a prototype form while awaiting funding for expansion into a full-scale version. This funding was eventually used to purchase a surplus...

The Additron neither went into production at the Canadian Rogers Vacuum Tube Company

Rogers Vacuum Tube Company

Rogers Vacuum Tube Company was founded as "Standard Radio Manufacturing" in 1925 by Edward S. Rogers, Sr. to sell Rogers "Batteryless" radio using vacuum tube technology. It was later renamed Rogers Majestic Corporation Limited when Rogers merged his company with Majestic Corporation of Chicago...

, where the prototypes were built, nor was it used in the UTEC machine. It did make a widely publicized appearance at the 1951 Canadian National Exhibition

Canadian National Exhibition

Canadian National Exhibition , also known as The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 18 days leading up to and including Labour Day Monday. With an attendance of approximately 1.3 million visitors each season, it is Canada’s largest...

 operating an electronic game of Tic-Tac-Toe

Tic-tac-toe

Tic-tac-toe, also called wick wack woe and noughts and crosses , is a pencil-and-paper game for two players, X and O, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3×3 grid. The X player usually goes first...

, dubbed Bertie The Brain, to show the marvels of electronic computing.

The tube was registered with the Radio Television Manufacturing Association on 20 March 1951 as type 6047.