History of Computers - Transistors

--Wirvine 15:13, 7 October 2008 (CDT)By William Irvine

Introduction

A transistor is device used to change electric signals. Transistors are a fundamental piece of moder electronics, are considered by some to be the most important innovation in the twentieth century.

Overview

John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain, scientists at the Bell Telephone Laboratories developed the transistor in an attempt to improve upon the idea of the vacuum tube, which used massive amounts of energy and produces a huge amount of heat. The transistor is a device made of some sort of conducting material conduct and insulate, allowing the transistor to switch and modulate electric current. The 3 terminal transistor allows modulation of electricity by applying current to the third terminal.

Importance

The transistor can be mass produced at astoundingly low per transistor prices, which has led to it being in functionally every electronic device. in 2006 "60 million transistors were made...for every man, woman, and child in the world." Transistors are mostly used in integrated circuits, and have replaced electromechanical devices in controlling devices and appliances. The low cost of transistors and have also reduced the cost of digital computers, which leads to the higher digitalization of information, resulting in the Digital Revolution

Links & Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor#Bipolar_junction_transistor http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/tran.htm http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/trancirc.htm http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/physics/transistor/history/ http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa061698.htm