Episode 31 - Road to Transistors: Part I
Advent of Computing · Sean S Haas
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (traffic.libsyn.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
The transistor changed the world. It made small, complex, and cheap computing possible. But it wasn't the first attempt to crack the case. There is a long and strange lineage of similar devices leading up to the transistor. In this episode we take a look at two of those devices. First the vacuum tube, one of the first components that made computing possible. Then the cryotron, the first device purpose built for computers.
You can find the full audio of Atanasoff's talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxrcp1QSPvw
Like the show? Then why not head over and support me on Patreon. Perks include early access to future episodes, and stickers: https://www.patreon.com/adventofcomputing
Important dates in this episode:
1880: Thomas Edison Rediscovers Thermionic Emission 1904: Ambrose Fleming Invents the Vacuum Tube 1906: Lee de Forest Patents the Audion Triode Tube 1937: George Stibitz Creates First Binary Adding Circuit from Spare Relays 1938: John Atanasoff Visits a 'Honkey-Tonk' 1941: ABC, First Vacuum Tube Calculator, is Completed 1953: Cryotron Invented by Dudley Allen Buck