Transistor in 1927

There were some scientists who came very close to developing the transistor in the mid-1920s, one in the USSR and one in the USA. Suppose there is a working transistor in the USA no later than 1927, what sorts of effects does this have on the rest of the 20th century?
 

Deleted member 1487

It was basically invented then, but vacuum tubes were still a better option even when transistors came into use in the 1950s. It took until a lot of extra work was done on semiconductors and other developments before they really became viable in the 1960s. Transistors really were more useful for making computers smaller in the 1950s, hearing aids, and to a degree some radios, but it took until the late 50s-early 60s to really start beating out tubes for radios. Part of that was the development of better production processes for silicon that resulted in greater purity that improved performance, plus improvements in basic design.
 
It was basically invented then, but vacuum tubes were still a better option even when transistors came into use in the 1950s. It took until a lot of extra work was done on semiconductors and other developments before they really became viable in the 1960s. Transistors really were more useful for making computers smaller in the 1950s, hearing aids, and to a degree some radios, but it took until the late 50s-early 60s to really start beating out tubes for radios. Part of that was the development of better production processes for silicon that resulted in greater purity that improved performance, plus improvements in basic design.

Ja. The purity levels required for silicon semiconductors are incredible. Unbelievable. It took quite a while to get to that level.
 
During WWII may see work on transistors for guidance systems, proximity fuses, and perhaps the firing/fuzing mechanism for the atomic bomb. The uses of transistors vs tubes for all sort of things for the military especially where weight and ruggedness count is obvious. IMHO you'll see transistors in general use perhaps 10 years ahead of OTL because of the advances of WWII in this scenario.
 
Top