Transistor

A transistor is an electronic component that can be used as part of an amplifier, or as a switch.^[1] It is made of a semiconductor material. Transistors are found in most electronic devices. The transistor was a major advancement after the triode tube, with using much less electricity, and lasting many years longer, to switch or amplify another electronic current.

The transistor can be used for a variety of different things including amplifiers and digital switches for computer microprocessors. Digital work mostly uses MOSFETs. Some transistors are individually packaged, mainly in order to handle high power. Most transistors are inside integrated circuits.

1. ↑ "The Junction Transistor". 1999. Retrieved 2012-05-07.