What can be regarded as the greatest invention in history. Well the candidates are extremely strong- the wheel, agriculture,the light bulb,etc. But the most important, if not greatest, invention of the 20th century was the humble transistor.
What is a transistor?
A transistor can be explained simply as a toggling on and off switch. This works according to binary rules i.e. on is 1 and off is 0. This proved to be very helpful in the circuitry of a computer. The working of a transistor is similar to that of its predecessor, the vacuum tube.
However, the main difference, is their size. Modern transistors are extremely small. They measure in mere nanometers.This helps to reduce the size of the circuit board greatly.
A transistor is also very durable and often does not have be replaced.They help in performing billions of calculations and they do it in seconds!
The first transistor
The concept of a transistor was first proposed by Austro-Hungarian physicist Julius Edgar Lilienfeldin 1926. However, it was not possible to build one at that time.The first working transistor was built in 1947 by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain while working under William Shockley. In 1956, they were awarded a Nobel Price for their achievement.
How the transistor changed the world
The transistor completely. revolutionized the world of electronics. Radios became cheaper and smaller, faster and smaller calculators were built and computers were invented, among many other things. Today, they are the key component in all electronic builds. Hence, they are regarded as the most important discovery of the 20th century. Smartphones rely greatly on transistors due to their small size, fast speed and durable nature. The MOS transistor is the most widely manufactured device in history!
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