Semiconductors · 1948 · John Bardeen & Walter H. Brattain
The Transistor, A Semi-Conductor Triode
Use a three-terminal semiconductor device so a small input controls or amplifies a larger current, replacing the scale and fragility of vacuum tubes.
The central move
Use a three-terminal semiconductor device so a small input controls or amplifies a larger current, replacing the scale and fragility of vacuum tubes.
Why it had to exist
Reliable electronic switching was constrained by vacuum tubes: they were bulky, hot, power-hungry, and failure-prone. Solid-state control promised a radically smaller physical basis for logic.
Where it leads
Semiconductor control → transistors → integrated circuits → dense digital logic and modern processors.