Simple dekatron spinner, which uses the AC 60Hz to move the glow. +500V DC power for the dekatron is derived from the 120VAC. It uses a circuit, which usually only doubles pulsed DC, but due to the nature of the AC signal, it appears to triple the voltage. 120VAC is really the 'RMS value', or equivalent DC work. 120VAC is actually a 330Vpp waveform. A common doubler circuit rides that 330V on top, of a filtered 165VDC, to get +495VDC. Its simple math.
Not learning math is not stupid. Refusing to learn it is !
