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In brief and in the most general terms, a transistor is a 3-terminal semiconductor device capable of changing its resistance in a "controlled" way. It is like the valve (the hose bib) that you open to turn on the water to your hose. The valve allows you to apply a little energy (from your hand) to control lots of energy (the water pressure). That's amplification. Let's peek in on this and make some simple comparisons. A transistor has an emitter, a collector and a base. The emitter and collector could be considered "input and output" terminals in the most basic sense. As for the base, it is the "control terminal" just like the handle on the faucet. By applying a small voltage to the base to "turn on" the device, we can get current to begin flowing. First a little, and then, by turning it on more, a lot. Eventually the device will be "all the way on" and will be allowing maximum current to flow through it. The opposite will be true when we turn the device off. That's it. Oh, but let's take a moment to look at the implications, shall we? Imagine turning on the water really, really fast. Like almost instantly on. Then off the same way. By turning the transistor on and off "instantly" and looking at the result, we'd get "ons" and "offs" from it. That's 1's and 0's there, and it's binary. That's how we can make a digital signal. And this process is exactly at the heart of how the microprocessor in all digital computers works. You probably saw that coming. Let's look at one other thing. You're familiar with sound, which is mechanical energy. It's like a vibrating string on a guitar or the membrane ("skin") on a drum, just to cite a pair of examples. That movement creates harmonic or oscillating motion and the sound. If we want to create the electrical equivalent, we have to open and close that water valve as quickly as the frequency of the vibrations. That's not really possible with the valve, but with the transistor, we can apply a changing voltage to the base as fast as any "regular" mechanical vibration. If a string vibrates at 1000 cycles per second (1000 Hertz), we can change the voltage to the base at that rate. Let's slow the action down. Note that we start turning on the transistor, then we turn it on a bit more, then a bit more. At some point we've reached a "peak" and then we start turning it off, and off a bit more and off a bit more until it's off. The rateat which we do this corresponds to the frequency of the signal being amplified by the transistor. And how far we actually turn the transistor on before turning it back off corresponds to the amplitude of the signal we are working with. The transistor has largely replaced the vacuum tube, which was originally called an electronic valve. Having wandered around in this discussion, you may be able to see why the terminology (which is a bit "old school" now) can still be fairly applied - even to the transistor.
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoA transistor operates as a switch by operating it outside of its linear range.
Basically, if you apply less voltage across the base-emitter junction than required to turn in on, then it is off, and if you apply more current through the base-emitter junction than collector-emitter current divided by hFe, then then it is on and saturated, fully outside of its linear range.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoAll transistors are reactive to light. If you cut the top off of a regular PNP or NPN transistor and expose it to a sufficient amount of light, a current will conduct through any two of its leads. If you want to use it as a switch that turns on when it's night, you could attach the output to an inverter and then put the transistor up against a window. I guess when it got dark, it would conduct electricity...
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Why is NPN transistor a straight switch and Why is PNP transistor an inverted switch?
npn and pnp transistors have the same operation as one another, they are both switches, pnps may be known as inverted switches because they work on negative voltage supplys and not positive voltage supplies.
What is a cmos gate?
A CMOS gate is a logical switch used in electronics. CMOS stands for Complimentary Metal Oxide Silicon. These types of semiconductors have a very high input impedance, are very sensitive use low current and work over a larger range of voltage. The alternative is TTL(Transistor to Transistor Logic) which work at 5volts only and draw higher currents. A gate, is a switch that changes state (on/off) depending on the logic voltage levels applied to it's inputs.
How transistor work as a diode?
A: Actually a transistor have two diode with the base mas a common terminal. the characteristics of these tow diodes however are not the same as a common diode
What will happen when terminals base and emitter gets interchanged in a transistor?
It won't work.
What is the best way to describe the function of a typical transistor in an electronic circuit?
A transistor in a circuit can do many things. It can be used to amplify voltage signals, or current signals, create current and voltage sources, make buffers, and so on. Transistors also find a major use in logic circuits (ie, where signals can either be a '0' or a '1'), where they essentially act as a switch, and can be used to create inverters, AND gates, OR gates, and all sorts of useful components. By itself, a transistor is a three-terminal device that can control the current going through two of its terminals through the voltage applied at the third terminal. But there are many applications for a transistor in its many different configurations, which is why it is so important in modern electronic technology.
SL100 transistor's pin diagram?
transistor sl 100n has 3 pins and it is work like a switch. there is metal lead in the above metal surface the nearest pin is emeter and last pin is collector and center pin is base
How transistor works in ac?
work like on off switch!!
Can you have a diagram of what how does hydroelectric work?
With necessary diagram, explain how MYCINES works.
What is mining of transistor?
A transistor is a device used to switch power between electrical components. Transistors work to amplify existing signals as well as open and close circuits.
How does a npn transistor switch work to switch a load on and off?
let's insert a transistor in place of the switch to show how it can control the flow of electrons through the lamp. Remember that the controlled current through a transistor must go between collector and emitter. Since it is the current through the lamp that we want to control, we must position the collector and emitter of our transistor where the two contacts of the switch were. We must also make sure that the lamp's current will move against the direction of the emitter arrow symbol to ensure that the transistor's junction bias will be correct as in Figure below(b).
What are modes of biasing a transistor?
Transistor works as amplifier,oscillators,switch only when it is biased properly.biasing can be defined as how much amount of voltage that has to be supplied to each junction of the transistor in order to make it work as any one of the above given types.biasing voltage can be decided by seeing the V to I graph of a transistor
Why is NPN transistor a straight switch and Why is PNP transistor an inverted switch?
npn and pnp transistors have the same operation as one another, they are both switches, pnps may be known as inverted switches because they work on negative voltage supplys and not positive voltage supplies.
What is a transistor and how does it work?
The transistor is an example of semiconductor equipment that can be used to switch and amplify electric power. It is said to be the most important part of the digital revolution because if there are no transistor, digital equipment like cellular phone, computers and other devices would not exist.
How could you use the theory of tectonics to explain how a typical volcano work?
to make a diagram
What is the work of transistor?
The work of a transistor is to amplify the input signal to get high output value.
What are the operating regions of transistors?
operating region of the transistor is the area of the voltage and an electronic configuration in which a transistor can work with its full efficiency. In that operating region transistor can be used easily what above said by harsh is correct...the following may help u further... Based on application the transistor is decided where to lie. for example transistors are made to lie in active region to make it as amplifier. when transistors are used as switch it is made to lie in saturation region(when switch is made as ON) and cut-off region(when switch is made as OFF).....
What is photo transistor?
Photo transistor always work with solar power
