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Source: https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/digital-logic/12/273
M ki i
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8/4/22, 7:06 PM Just the Numbers. One: Bell Labs 1947 | by Derrall Garrison | Medium
Making a transistor.
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Chemistry, electricity, positive and negative charges, holes and free electrons.
Semiconducting materials residing between conductors and insulators but easy to
manipulate with a base or tap. Look for the emitters that handles the main current and
the collector where the electrons travel.
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8/4/22, 7:06 PM Just the Numbers. One: Bell Labs 1947 | by Derrall Garrison | Medium
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All those transistors carrying information in the forms of on/off, high voltage/low
voltage. Storing a bit and changing with a bit.
Just as the transistor multiplied, so too did offshoot companies of Fairchild called
Fairchildren develop more applications and develop the technology.
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8/4/22, 7:06 PM Just the Numbers. One: Bell Labs 1947 | by Derrall Garrison | Medium
This was the first commercial MOS IC: Robert Norman’s 20-bit shift register using 120 p-channel transistors.
1964
The story rapidly accelerates, Computer History website for the history of digital logic.
https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/digital-logic/12/275
As more transistors are fit onto a silicon chip the size decreases. Moore’s Law continues
to measure roughly the progress of how many transistors can be embedded on silicon.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law
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8/4/22, 7:06 PM Just the Numbers. One: Bell Labs 1947 | by Derrall Garrison | Medium
We count by transistors.
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8/4/22, 7:06 PM Just the Numbers. One: Bell Labs 1947 | by Derrall Garrison | Medium
If we think about pennies being like transistors then we can begin to understand the
scale.
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8/4/22, 7:06 PM Just the Numbers. One: Bell Labs 1947 | by Derrall Garrison | Medium
Source: https://www.imaginationstationtoledo.org/education-resources/diy-
activities/what-does-a-trillion-dollars-look-like/
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