A tiny electronic component that can control or amplify electrical signals, used as a basic building block in computers and many other devices.
It was formed in the 1940s from 'transfer' and 'resistor', because it transfers a signal between circuits and controls resistance. The name was chosen by scientists at Bell Labs.
Modern computer chips can hold billions of transistors, each smaller than a speck of dust, quietly switching on and off to represent ones and zeros. The entire digital world—videos, games, messages—is built on these microscopic electronic gates.
The development and commercialization of transistors occurred in male-dominated labs and companies, and women's technical contributions were often relegated to 'assistant' or clerical roles despite substantial engineering work.
Use neutrally as an electronic component; when discussing history of computing hardware, include overlooked women engineers and technicians.
Women contributed significantly to early electronics and computing—from circuit design to fabrication—though patents and credit often went to male supervisors.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.