Transistors Changed Everything. Here’s How They Work
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The key, it turned out, was a clever pairing of a transformer and a transistor.
Key facts
- The electric relay, invented in 1835, was a key component in these systems
- Suppose you wanted to turn on a light in another town 50 miles away
- Split the circuit into two 25-mile lengths and connect them with a relay
- For starters, there would be no personal computers or cell phones, so no Amazon, no video games, no dating apps, no messaging, no streaming, no social media, no Apple Pay or Google Maps, and no AI
Summary
Last week the reporter revealed the sneaky physics behind the “ joule thief,” an electrical circuit that lets you squeeze more energy out of seemingly dead batteries. Life would be completely different without transistors. The best way to understand this pivotal technology is to follow the evolutionary trail, all the way back to the electric relays used in telegraphs in the 1800s. The electric relay, invented in 1835, was a key component in these systems. Basically, it was a switch that turned an electrical current on and off—sort of like the wall switch that you use to turn a light on. Suppose you wanted to turn on a light in another town 50 miles away.