By 1906, because of the work of Lee de Forest, inventors knew the two basic functions of a vacuum tube -- converting alternating current to direct current and amplifying an electronic signal. Over the decades, vacuum tubes were improved and were used in more and more complicated circuitry. At the 1939 World's Fair, for example, vacuum tubes were showcased in fully electronic television. And by 1945, the high-speed computer ENIAC was built, containing more than 17,000 tubes. Although successful, ENIAC and its offspring showed the real limitations of vacuum tubes: to make more powerful computers, more tubes would be needed, but at some point available space and energy would prevent further growth. Vacuum tubes were bulky, used a lot of energy, and were somewhat fragile and easy to overheat. Engineers knew they needed to find something different.

Answered by R.P. Singh , an ibibo Master, at 5:07 PM on July 23, 2008

By 1906, because of the work of Lee de Forest, inventors knew the two basic functions of a vacuum tube -- converting alternating current to direct current and amplifying an electronic signal. Over the decades, vacuum tubes were improved and were used in more and more complicated circuitry. At the 1939 World's Fair, for example, vacuum tubes were showcased in fully electronic television. And by 1945, the high-speed computer ENIAC was built, containing more than 17,000 tubes. Although successful, ENIAC and its offspring showed the real limitations of vacuum tubes: to make more powerful computers, more tubes would be needed, but at some point available space and energy would prevent further growth. Vacuum tubes were bulky, used a lot of energy, and were somewhat fragile and easy to overheat. Engineers knew they needed to find something different.

Answered by Rocky , an ibibo Master, at 9:20 AM on July 23, 2008

By 1906, because of the work of Lee de Forest, inventors knew the two basic functions of a vacuum tube -- converting alternating current to direct current and amplifying an electronic signal. Over the decades, vacuum tubes were improved and were used in more and more complicated circuitry. At the 1939 World's Fair, for example, vacuum tubes were showcased in fully electronic television. And by 1945, the high-speed computer ENIAC was built, containing more than 17,000 tubes. Although successful, ENIAC and its offspring showed the real limitations of vacuum tubes: to make more powerful computers, more tubes would be needed, but at some point available space and energy would prevent further growth. Vacuum tubes were bulky, used a lot of energy, and were somewhat fragile and easy to overheat. Engineers knew they needed to find something different.

Answered by Yash , an ibibo Master, at 9:57 AM on July 17, 2008

By 1906, because of the work of Lee de Forest, inventors knew the two basic functions of a vacuum tube -- converting alternating current to direct current and amplifying an electronic signal. Over the decades, vacuum tubes were improved and were used in more and more complicated circuitry. At the 1939 World's Fair, for example, vacuum tubes were showcased in fully electronic television. And by 1945, the high-speed computer ENIAC was built, containing more than 17,000 tubes. Although successful, ENIAC and its offspring showed the real limitations of vacuum tubes: to make more powerful computers, more tubes would be needed, but at some point available space and energy would prevent further growth. Vacuum tubes were bulky, used a lot of energy, and were somewhat fragile and easy to overheat. Engineers knew they needed to find something different.

Answered by Raksha , an ibibo Master, at 8:35 AM on July 14, 2008

By 1906, because of the work of Lee de Forest, inventors knew the two basic functions of a vacuum tube -- converting alternating current to direct current and amplifying an electronic signal. Over the decades, vacuum tubes were improved and were used in more and more complicated circuitry. At the 1939 World's Fair, for example, vacuum tubes were showcased in fully electronic television. And by 1945, the high-speed computer ENIAC was built, containing more than 17,000 tubes. Although successful, ENIAC and its offspring showed the real limitations of vacuum tubes: to make more powerful computers, more tubes would be needed, but at some point available space and energy would prevent further growth. Vacuum tubes were bulky, used a lot of energy, and were somewhat fragile and easy to overheat. Engineers knew they needed to find something different.

The Telephone Company had problems with vacuum tubes, too, and hoped to find something else to use for switching telephone calls. The idea of somehow using semiconductors (solid materials such as silicon that conduct electricity, but not as well as a conductor such as copper) had been tossed about before World War II, but knowledge about how they worked was scant, and manufacturing semiconductors was difficult. In 1945, however, the vice president for research at Bell Labs established a research group to look into it. The group was led by William Shockley and included Walter Brattain, John Bardeen, and others, physicists who had worked with quantum theory, especially in solids.

Answered by Arvind Pal , an ibibo Master, at 4:00 PM on July 12, 2008

hi there

By 1906, because of the work of Lee de Forest, inventors knew the two basic functions of a vacuum tube -- converting alternating current to direct current and amplifying an electronic signal. Over the decades, vacuum tubes were improved and were used in more and more complicated circuitry. At the 1939 World's Fair, for example, vacuum tubes were showcased in fully electronic television. And by 1945, the high-speed computer ENIAC was built, containing more than 17,000 tubes. Although successful, ENIAC and its offspring showed the real limitations of vacuum tubes: to make more powerful computers, more tubes would be needed, but at some point available space and energy would prevent further growth. Vacuum tubes were bulky, used a lot of energy, and were somewhat fragile and easy to overheat. Engineers knew they needed to find something different.

The Telephone Company had problems with vacuum tubes, too, and hoped to find something else to use for switching telephone calls. The idea of somehow using semiconductors (solid materials such as silicon that conduct electricity, but not as well as a conductor such as copper) had been tossed about before World War II, but knowledge about how they worked was scant, and manufacturing semiconductors was difficult. In 1945, however, the vice president for research at Bell Labs established a research group to look into it. The group was led by William Shockley and included Walter Brattain, John Bardeen, and others, physicists who had worked with quantum theory, especially in solids.

http://library.thinkquest. org/20230/innovations/transist.htm

Answered by Reeta K , an ibibo Master, at 2:20 PM on July 11, 2008

well, On 17 November 1947 John Bardeen and Walter Brattain observed that when electrical contacts were applied to a crystal of germanium, the output power was larger than the input.

William Shockley saw the potential in this and worked over the next few months greatly expanding the knowledge of semiconductors and is considered by many to be the 'father' of the transistor.

Source Site could give you more information :

http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/T ransistor

Answered by Romi , an ibibo Master, at 12:02 PM on July 11, 2008

On 17 November 1947 John Bardeen and Walter Brattain observed that when electrical contacts were applied to a crystal of germanium, the output power was larger than the input.

William Shockley saw the potential in this and worked over the next few months greatly expanding the knowledge of semiconductors and is considered by many to be the 'father' of the transistor.

Source Site could give you more information :

http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/T ransistor

Answered by Nidhi Singh , an ibibo Master, at 1:23 AM on July 11, 2008

On 17 November 1947 John Bardeen and Walter Brattain observed that when electrical contacts were applied to a crystal of germanium, the output power was larger than the input.

William Shockley saw the potential in this and worked over the next few months greatly expanding the knowledge of semiconductors and is considered by many to be the 'father' of the transistor.

Source Site could give you more information :

http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/T ransistor

Answered by .... ..... , an ibibo Master, at 7:32 PM on July 10, 2008

On 17 November 1947 John Bardeen and Walter Brattain observed that when electrical contacts were applied to a crystal of germanium, the output power was larger than the input.

William Shockley saw the potential in this and worked over the next few months greatly expanding the knowledge of semiconductors and is considered by many to be the 'father' of the transistor.

Source Site could give you more information :

http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/T ransistor

Answered by Sharad Singh , an ibibo Master, at 2:25 PM on July 09, 2008