The name transistor comes from the word 'trans' of transmitter and the word 'sistor' of resistor.
Definition of a Transistor
A device composed of semiconductor material that amplifies a signal or opens or closes a circuit, transistors have become the major componet in all digital circuits, including computer microprocessors which now contain millions of microscopic size transistors. Prior to transistors, digital circuits used
vacuum tubes which had many disadvantages, they were larger, used more energy, and created more heat.
- The History of The Transistor
The tiny and powerful transistor changed the future of electronics. John Bardeen, Walter Brattain & William Shockley all co-invented the transistor in 1947 at Bell Labs.
- The Transistor Inventors
U.S. Patent 2,524,035 was granted to John Bardeen and Walter Brattain for a "Three-Electrode Circuit Element Utilizing Semiconductive Materials" aka the transistor.
