A Series Of Tubes

A Series Of Tubes

Diodes

The simplest vacuum tube, the diode, is similar to an incandescent light bulb with an added electrode inside.

When the bulb's filament (cathode) is heated red-hot, electrons are "boiled" off its surface into the vacuum inside the bulb, and can be attracted to a positively charged plate (anode).

Triodes

The triode adds a third element -- the "grid", which is used to control the flow from cathode to anode.

The voltage difference between grid and cathode governs the flow of electrons from cathode to anode.

This allows for electrically controlled switching, and even amplification, of the input signal.

What can you do with these?

A Series Of Tubes

The Original Valve Steam Machine?

The Transistor

Lots of Transistors

From PONG to Pac-Man

Cost per Component

The Cost Graph

The Component Graph

Prediction is Difficult

Transistor Counts (to 2011)

Transistor Counts (to 2020)

Commonly Misused!

Not Exponential!

Top Tips

Learn Your Powers of Two

Danny Hillis' Knob

Let's Take A Year Off!

Planning A Game

Moore's Law In Action

Something Changed in 2004

Hitting the wall in 2020?

On the other hand...

"3D" Transistors (from 2011)

Intel's "10nm" tech (2017)

Getting to 5nm is HARD

The Actual Status in 2020?

The Future?

• History is a pack of lies about events that never
  happened, told by people who weren't there.
  
• History is merely a list of surprises.
  It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.
  
• History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.*

Transistor Memories