ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Phototube

Hey there kiddo! Have you ever seen a camera before? Well, a phototube is kind of like a fancy camera that can see really small things!

It's actually a piece of equipment that is used in science to measure light. When light shines on the phototube, electrons inside the tube get excited and move around. Then, a special gadget in the phototube counts how many electrons moved around.

Scientists use this to measure how much light is shining on something really small, like a cell or even a tiny particle in the air! It's important because if we know how much light is hitting something, we can learn a lot about how it works and how it reacts to different things.

So, in a nutshell, a phototube is a special tool that scientists use to measure light and study tiny things. Pretty cool, huh?