Ho,
hum. So somebody invented a new way of regulating electrical current
and amplifying and switching electronic signals. Some dreary
physicists who got a Nobel Prize for their efforts—hooray for
them!—but why would anyone else care?
But
when William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain invented the
transistor on this date in 1947, they ushered in an entirely new era
of electronics and made possible the integrated circuit and
microprocessor.
Almost
everything we build these days depends on transistors! So, hooray for
all of us—and happy birthday, transistors!
Did
you know...?
- The word “transistor” was created by shortening the words transfer resistor. (That makes the word a “portmanteau,” like “smog,” with was created by combining smoke and fog.)
- Modern integrated circuits (or computer microchips) have billions of transistors!
Before
transistors, amplification of radio signals and other electronic
signals was obtained by vacuum tubes. However, vacuum tubes were
bulky and fragile, and they consumed a lot of power.
You can imagine the world of the 1940s, when radios were pieces of furniture and there was no way to “take music with you.”
- In 1954 transistor radios were introduced, and suddenly music became portable—pocket-sized, even! It was a revolution, and the transistor radio became the most popular electronic communication device in history. Billions were manufactured in the 1960s and 1970s.
 |
| That dark thing between the boys' cheek and shoulder isn't a cell phone. Those hadn't been invented yet! It's a transistor radio. |
- Transistor radios were so popular that some were manufactured as novelty or advertising items. You will probably have to do some research to understand why the Jimmy Carter radio was peanut-shaped, or what the “Mork from Ork” egg-shaped radio was all about. People could buy Charlie the Tuna-shaped radios from Star-Kist or Donald Duck-shaped radios from Disney!
Also
on this date:
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