Transistor Documentary Response

Managed to find this on my Hard Drive thankfully!

What technology was used prior to transistors to amplify a signal? How did it change the history of communications in the US? What was the metaphor that the video used to describe how this technology worked?


Prior to transistors, the technology bit used to amplify signal was the vacuum tube. These tubes were large and very warm when in operation. They necessitated the construction of large electronics that were finicky and needed repair often, however, vacuum tubes were so large that it was easy for the average handy person to do the repairs if they were technically inclined at all.

After the transistor, communication products could be small enough to be in every home, and complex enough to create new methods of personal communication. They could also be cheap enough to be more widespread, as transistors were not as delicate as vacuum tubes.


Describe the break through in the 1947 that made the transistor a reality?

The point-contact transistor was discovered and patented in this year by the team at Bell Labs. When two electrically transmitting gold contact points are connected to a crystal of Germanium, the crystal amplifies the signal, and the resultant power output is greater than the input. This is a different method than was ever patented before (field effect transistors), thus, the mega conglomorate of Bell Labs was able to create a widespread transistor technology thanks to the new discovery and their existing distribution power.


What do we learn from watching this video about group and team dynamics that we can apply to our own situation? What was successful about this team? What was its downfall?

The team was comprised of bright individuals from different disciplines that were able to collaborate and innovate because of their different perspectives. However, the team was very bogged down by bravado and inflated egos, causing arguments and making the team dynamic hostile.


What medic and social changes occurred as a result of the transistor?

All electronics were able to be smaller, cheaper, and more accessible, such as the portable radio invented by Sony, to the laptops and phones of today that include tiny built in transistors on their circuit boards. Medicine has become increasingly more digitized with x-rays showing up on computers, CT scans, etc. which would be impossible without the humble transistor.