How many transistors are there in the processor in your computer? A Platinum Jubilee Fact.

I have an Intel i7 processor in my laptop – and a quick Google search on the model of chip did not give an exact answer, but it must be billions – so quite a lot. The modern computer age owes it’s birth to the discovery of the transistor – which was licensed for general use in 1952 by Bell Labs.

1952: Bell Labs Licenses Transistor Technology | The Silicon Engine | Computer History Museum

However Bell Labs missed out on transforming this technology into the integrated circuit also known as a microchip. An integrated circuit is an efficient collection of transistors, assembled into a single package and configured to carry out specific tasks. This could be a complete transistor radio on a chip – the first radio I build used one of these – to the CPU in your computer.

References

Morton, J. A. (1964). From research to technology. International Science and Technology29(9).

Riordan, M. (2006). How Bell Labs missed the microchip. IEEE Spectrum43(12), 36-41.

Further Reading

Making a Transistor Radio – Ladybird Book (petervis.com)

Clive Catton MSc (Cyber Security) – by-line and other articles

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