Grade 10 · History
The Story of the Transistor
In the 1940s, the vacuum tube was the heart of radios, long-distance telephone lines and the first electronic computers. This glass bulb, about the size of a thumb, could strengthen a weak electrical signal or switch a current on and off. Vacuum tubes worked, but they had serious drawbacks. They needed a glowing hot filament inside, so they used a great deal of power, gave off heat and took time to warm up, and they burned out like light bulbs.
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