The transistor computer did not last as long as the vacuum tube computer lasted, but it was still an important part in the advancement of computer technologies. In 1947 three scientists, John Bardeen, William Shockley, and Walter Brattain working at AT&T's Bell Labs invented the transistor which functions like a vacuum tube but there were obvious differences between the transistor and the vacuum tube. The transistor was faster, more reliable, smaller, and much cheaper to build than a vacuum tube. One transistor could replace the equivalent of 40 vacuum tubes. These transistors were made of solid material, some of which is silicon. Therefore they were very cheap to produce. Transistors were found to conduct electricity faster and better than vacuum tubes. Transistors were much smaller and gave off virtually no heat compared to vacuum tubes, making them very important in the development of smaller 'micro' technologies. |  An example of different transistor designs |
