They use the results of their search to explain the significance of the transistor in their lives. Background A transistor is a tiny device that either switches electric current on and off or amplifies an electric current. The original transistors were small cylinders, a bit larger than a pencil eraser. Over the years, scientists and engineers have been able to make transistors tinier and tinier. With the invention of the integrated circuit, or microchip, in which thousands or millions of transistors are deposited on a piece of silicon, transistors have become microscopic.
Transistors are the main component of the microchips used in computers.
In a computer microchip, transistors act as switches, letting current through to represent the binary digit 1, or cutting it off to represent 0. Today many household appliances including televisions, VCRs, stereos, telephones, refrigerators, washers and dryers, microwave ovens, alarm systems, and fax machines have chips built into them. The chips allow the devices to process great volumes of information and provide the user with exactly the information desired, from identifying the name and phone number of a caller to playing and replaying the chorus of the latest hip-hop release. Transistors are also found in pacemakers, hearing aids, cameras, calculators, and watches. Most of these devices draw their power from tiny batteries.