What is a transistor and what is its purpose

Many people who somehow encounter electrical and electronic circuits, it is interesting to know what they consist of. One of the most common elements is a transistor. So what is a transistor?

This is a semiconductor device that is designed to amplify and control electric current. But this definition does not give a clear understanding of what a transistor is.

This device is issued as a discrete component in various individual cases or as an active element in so-called integrated circuits. In them, the size of the case of transistors can be less than several hundredths of a millimeter.

What is a transistor in terms of its use in various industries and electronics? Since this device adapts quite easily to the most diverse conditions of use, it has already completely replaced the old electronic tubes, in fact, leaving the lamp technology in the distant past with rare exceptions. On the basis of the use of transistor technology, a whole broad area of the technological industry has formed - semiconductor electrical engineering (this includes the production and operation of devices such as gas discharge and vacuum devices, semiconductor equipment, etc.).

To fully understand the question of what a transistor is, you need to look a little into the history of its application. For example, it is known that the first commodity for consumption, released on the basis of a transistor, was a hearing aid. It appeared on sale in the middle of the last century. In terms of industrial applications, initially transistor technology was used for telephone switching.

Today, these devices are used everywhere due to the fact that the parameters of the transistor and its characteristics are really unique and diverse. It is necessary to mention the use of these electronic devices in multi-transistor integrated circuits, in radio engineering, in televisions and tape recorders, in calculators, in children's toys. Transistor technology has received the widest distribution in security and fire alarm systems, in gaming consoles, in various regulators (from power regulators in heavy industry and on locomotives to light regulators).

What is a transistor and its application in modern digital technology? This is a very advanced invention that is used, for example, in a transistorized fuel injection, ignition, control and regulation system on microcircuits (microprocessor technology and microcontrollers), as well as digital clocks and cameras.

But the most impressive changes were made by the transistor in communication and data processing systems. It is used on central exchanges, in large computers. The development of space technology and space flights would simply be impossible without the use of transistor technology. For them, special semiconductor intermetallic elements have even been developed in military affairs (for air and ground observation).