About this video

• Video Title: The Transistor: a 1953 documentary, anticipating its coming impact on technology
• Channel: AT&T Tech Channel
• Speakers: None explicitly named.
• Duration: 00:09:37

Overview

This 1953 documentary from AT&T Tech Channel introduces the transistor, highlighting its revolutionary potential compared to the vacuum tube. It explains the historical development of electronics, starting with the vacuum tube's invention and its role in early communication technologies, and then details the discovery and advantages of the transistor, emphasizing its smaller size, lower power consumption, and cooler operation. The video anticipates the transistor's widespread impact across various industries, including telecommunications, military applications, and computing.

Key takeaways

• The Transistor's Origins: The transistor was developed at Bell Telephone Laboratories by Doctors Shockley, Bardeen, and Brattain, stemming from research into the surface properties of semiconductors like germanium.
• Advantages over Vacuum Tubes: Transistors are significantly more power-efficient (requiring a millionth of a watt compared to a watt or more for vacuum tubes), generate less heat, are smaller, more reliable, and more rugged.
• Impact on Electronics: The transistor enables miniaturization of electronic devices, leading to more compact and efficient equipment with lower maintenance costs.
• Applications in Telephony: Transistors are poised to improve rural telephone service, enhance long-distance calling, and facilitate multi-channel telephony and direct dialing.
• Future Potential: The documentary foresees transistors revolutionizing various fields, including portable radios ("Dick Tracy radio"), portable televisions, military technology, and significantly reducing the size and power needs of "electronic brains" (computers).

The video mentions several key historical milestones related to the vacuum tube:

• 1907: Dr. Lee de Forest's discovery of the Audion, an amplifying tube that could control electron flow and amplify electrical waves.
• Early 1900s: Development of high vacuum tubes by scientists like Dr. Arnold and Dr. Langmuir, leading to greater fidelity and stability.
• 1915: The development of manufacturing methods for vacuum tubes enabled the first transcontinental telephone line between New York and San Francisco, making 3,000-mile calls a reality.
• 1915: The use of 500 vacuum tubes to transmit the human voice across the Atlantic via radio telephone for the first time.
• 1920s: The advent of radio broadcasting.
• Following decade (1920s-1930s): The introduction of talking motion pictures, trans-oceanic radio telephone service, television demonstrations, and ship-to-shore telephony.
• Mid-20th Century: Vacuum tubes were crucial for technologies like television, radar (for both war and peace), and microwave radio relay systems that carried numerous telephone calls and television programs.

The researchers at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Doctors Shockley, Bardeen, and Brattain, discovered the transistor while investigating the surface properties of germanium. They were studying this substance because it is known to be a semiconductor of electricity. Their research suggested a way to amplify an electric current within a solid without using a vacuum or a heating element.

The video anticipates several applications for transistors:

In Telecommunications:

• Improved Rural Telephony: Transistors integrated into telephones would make it easier for farmers in isolated areas to hear and be heard.
• Enhanced Long-Distance Service: Replacing vacuum tubes in long-distance telephone service.
• Multi-channel Telephony: Increasing the number of calls that can be carried simultaneously along telephone lines.
• Route Selectors: Assisting in marking the pathway for direct calls to distant cities.
• Underwater Cables: Potential integration into underwater telephone cables.

In Consumer Electronics:

• Portable Radios: Enabling devices like the "Dick Tracy radio" that could be operated with a flick of the wrist.
• Portable Televisions: Allowing for video entertainment to be enjoyed anywhere.
• Miniaturized Equipment: Making many types of electronic equipment smaller, requiring less space, and costing less to maintain.