To my father Jim who helped me build a simple radio when I was young and went on to help me in countless other ways big and small for the rest of his life J R
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 5 CHAPTER ONE TRANSISTORS UNSUNG HEROES OF MODERN ELECTRONICS 6 CHAPTER TWO TYPES OF TRANSISTORS 14 CHAPTER THREE TRANSISTORS TRANSFORM ELECTRONICS 22 CHAPTER FOUR THE FUTURE OF TRANSISTORS 30 EXPERIMENT USING A TRANSISTOR TO CONTROL AN LED 34 Solve It Answer Key 35 Glossary 36 Selected Bibliography 37 Further Information 38 Index 39
Transistors allow your favorite video games to work
INTRODUCTION A computer chip is smaller than a fingernail But it can contain more than a billion microscopic devices that are the keys to electronics called transistors Without transistors we wouldn’t have video games cell phones and countless other electronic machines and gadgets Not all transistors are microscopic Some are big enough to hold in your hand while you build a radio or a robot Transistors can do two very important jobs in electrical circuits They can act as amplifiers to increase or control the electric current in an electronic device Transistors can also be switches turning a current on or off or controlling how much current flows through a circuit Transistors may be the most important devices in electronics They play a big part in computers tablets cars satellites household appliances and electric toys big and small The more you know about them the more you’ll understand why the world relies on them in almost every modern electronic machine 5
