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transistor, semiconductor device for amplifying, controlling, and generating electrical signals. Transistors are the active components of integrated circuits, or “microchips,” which often contain billions of these minuscule devices etched into their shiny surfaces.
What are the uses of a transistor?
Transistors are commonly used in digital circuits as electronic switches which can be either in an “on” or “off” state, both for high-power applications such as switched-mode power supplies and for low-power applications such as logic gates.
What are the two main function of transistor?
Transistor Function So the two functions provided by transistors are switching of electronic signals and amplifying electronic signals.
What are 5 devices that transistors are used in?
Transistors are also found in pacemakers, hearing aids, cameras, calculators, and watches. Most of these devices draw their power from tiny batteries. Most spacecraft also rely on microchips, and thus transistors.
Why is transistor important?
Transistors make excellent electronic switches. They can turn currents on and off billions of times per second. Digital computers use transistors as a basic mechanism for storing and moving data.
How does electricity flow through a transistor?
We know that in transistors and diodes, electric current is carried by both free electrons and holes. Free electrons and holes travel in opposite directions. For example, if free electrons flow from left to right then the holes will flow from right to left.
Who invented transistor?
The three physicists who invented the transistor; William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain were awarded with the Nobel Prize. Considering the inventions that the transistor paved the way for, one could argue that it was the most important invention of the twentieth century.
What is transistor and its working?
A transistor is a miniature electronic component that can do two different jobs. It can work either as an amplifier or a switch: When it works as an amplifier, it takes in a tiny electric current at one end (an input current) and produces a much bigger electric current (an output current) at the other.
How can a transistor be used as a switch?
One of the most common uses for transistors in an electronic circuit is as simple switches. In short, a transistor conducts current across the collector-emitter path only when a voltage is applied to the base. When no base voltage is present, the switch is off. When base voltage is present, the switch is on.
What is an example of a transistor?
An example of a transistor is something combined in large numbers with microcircuits into a single circuit board and used in a computer. An electronic device that controls the flow of an electric current, most often used as an amplifier or switch. When voltage is applied to the gate, the transistor changes its state.
Can we live without transistors?
No transistors, no computers capable of providing the type of function and economics we have today for anything depending on computers. And that means farming and food would more resemble 100–200 years ago. Well we could live without any modern technology if we had not choice.
How many transistors are in a computer?
However big or small a computer chip is in actual physical size, 60 billion transistors sounds like a lot.
Why is the transistor the greatest invention?
Bell Labs publicly announced the first transistor at a press conference in New York on June 30, 1948. The transistor went on to replace bulky vacuum tubes and mechanical relays. The invention revolutionized the world of electronics and became the basic building block upon which all modern computer technology rests.
How much current can a transistor handle?
Some transistors may only be rated for a maximum of 10-100mA of current to flow through them. If you supply a current over the maximum rating, the transistor might blow up.
How biasing is done for a transistor?
Transistor biasing can be achieved either by using a single feed back resistor or by using a simple voltage divider network to provide the required biasing voltage. The following are five examples of transistor Base bias configurations from a single supply ( Vcc ).
How does a transistor work as an amplifier?
A transistor acts as an amplifier by raising the strength of a weak signal. The DC bias voltage applied to the emitter base junction, makes it remain in forward biased condition. Thus a small input voltage results in a large output voltage, which shows that the transistor works as an amplifier.
What invention replaced the transistor?
Integrated Circuits: The Next Generation The third generation of modern computers is known for using integrated circuits instead of individual transistors. Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at Fairchild are both credited with having invented the integrated circuit (IC) in 1958 and 1959.
What was the first name given to a transistor?
Bell Telephone Laboratories needed a generic name for the new invention: “Semiconductor Triode”, “Surface States Triode”, “Crystal Triode”, “Solid Triode” and “Iotatron” were all considered, but “Transistor,” coined by John R.
What age when long distance communication became more efficient?
The invention of the transistor ushered in the electronic age. People harnessed the power of transistor that led to the transistor radio, electronic circuits, and the earlt computers. In this age, long distance communication became more efficient.
What is a power transistor?
Transistors are three-terminal semiconductor electronic devices that can be used as switches or amplifiers. They can be of NPN or PNP polarity, and many different types are available with different power and switching speed ratings.
What is the transistor give its circuit symbol?
A transistor is made up of three terminals which are called the emitter, base and collector. An electrical signal is applied to the base and the current flows between emitter and collector.
