How the first transistor worked

Bill uses a replica of the point contact transistor built by Walter Brattain and John Bardeen at Bell Labs. On December 23, 1947 they used this device to amplify the output of a microphone and thus started the microelectronics revolution that changed the world. He describes in detail why a transistor works by highlighting the uniqueness of semiconductors in being able to transfer charge by positive and negative carriers.

 

AT&T Archives: Genesis of the Transistor

In the late 1940s, Bell Laboratories scientists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley invented the transistor, the first solid-state amplifier or switch, and in doing so laid the foundation for all modern electronics and circuitry. The three shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956 for the achievement. It may be the most important invention of the 20th century.

 This 1965 film shows footage of them reunited/recreating their 1940s lab time to show how it was done, but in real life they had parted. Bardeen had left the labs in 1951 for the U. of IL; Shockley in 1956 to run a semiconductor company in California (laying the groundwork for Silicon Valley), and Brattain retired in 1967 to Whitman College.

 Footage courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center, Warren, NJ

 

SparkFun According to Pete #37: Transistor Biasing Configurations Part 2

According to Pete is a video segment starring SparkFun Director of Engineering Pete Dokter. In this video series, Pete addresses common engineering questions, discusses current projects, and explores the wide world of embedded electronics!

(part 1 is here)


 

SparkFun According to Pete # 36: Transistor Biasing Configurations

Pete discusses two of the three major Transistor Biasing configurations, specifically common base and emitter follower.

 According to Pete is a video segment starring SparkFun Director of Engineering Pete Dokter. In this video series, Pete addresses common engineering questions, discusses current projects, and explores the wide world of embedded electronics!

 

MAKE presents: The Transistor

They electronically switch and amplify signals by harnessing the unique abilities of semiconductor materials. Their invention has transformed the world of electronics and accelerated our entry into the digital age. Behold - the Transistor!

Brought to you by makezine.com
Audio and video by Collin Cunningham

 

How Does a Transistor Work?

Transistors, semiconductors, doping.

 

Weekend Projects - Solar Joule Bracelet

The Solar Joule Bracelet combines two separate projects, a solar battery and a "joule thief," to build a wearable circuit that powers an LED. Solar energy flows through the photodiodes, building up a supercapacitor, which essentially acts like a battery. This energy is then delivered to the joule thief, where oscillations eventually exceed the LED's forward voltage, making it light up. Once fully charged, these oscillations will occur so fast that the LED will appear continuously bright, visible even during daytime!

 Complete instructions

 

Transistors (and John Bardeen) - Sixty Symbols

The invention of the transistor helped John Bardeen to one of his two Nobel Prizes for physics.

Source:  Sixty Symbols

Other Sixty Symbols videos

How smoke detectors work

Bill Hammack from University of Illinois takes apart a smoke detector and shows how it uses a radioactive source to generate a tiny current which is disrupted when smoke flows through the sensor. He describes how a special transistor called a MOSFET can be used to detect the tiny current changes.

Other "Engineer Guy" videos