PictureOfWhat
replica of first transistor on black pedestal under glass dome
This image is in the public domain. You are free to reuse it.
This is an old-fashioned…
  • • transistor
  • • stock ticker
  • • telegraph machine
  • • light bulbincorrect
What was once the size of a grapefruit is now so small that Intel fits about 500 million of them into an area no bigger than a postage stamp. That’s just one chip in your typical desktop computer of 2008 vintage. You need lots of transistors because they don’t do much individually. It takes at least six of them to make one AND gate, a logic device that says True if and only if both of its inputs are True. And how far does that get you?
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Comments
AIM user
anonymous
That looks exactly like a stock ticker.
AIM user
newskibitz
Yes, the early transistors were actually made of stock tickers. That's how they worked.
AIM user
anonymous
Really?
AIM user
unknownjpeg
Yes.
AIM user
anonymous
Yes.
AIM user
newskibitz
I mean, yes.
AIM user
unknownjpeg
Aha!
AIM user
anonymous
What the hell is that Lucent logo supposed to represent?
AIM user
unknownjpeg
It's a... I'm not telling.
AIM user
steroidsushi
looks freaky.
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