Hot Germanium Transistor Too Good

July 24, 2000
A germanium transistor operated just too well at a recent press conference. As part of a demonstration of a new thermoelectric transistor cooler, General Thermoelectric Corp. of Princeton, N.J., immersed a transistor amplifier in boiling water. The...

A germanium transistor operated just too well at a recent press conference. As part of a demonstration of a new thermoelectric transistor cooler, General Thermoelectric Corp. of Princeton, N.J., immersed a transistor amplifier in boiling water. The company planned to show how, without a thermoelectric cooler, the boiled transistor would die.

The germanium transistor should have quit amplifying at 85°C. Obstinately, it continued to amplify at 100°C.

The sales manager of Needco Cooling Semiconductors, Ltd. (a Montreal firm which developed the high-efficiency cooler) assured the audience that the signal would soon die. After a minute of heavy silence he tried to coax the unwilling transistor to die. He jiggled the transistor in the boiling water and then began to rap the side of the vessel—gently at first—then not so gently. Finally, the president of Needco joined in and began rapping the water vessel while the sales manager turned to the output-monitoring scope, which he began adjusting and tapping. The scope continued to work well, as did the transistor—still. (Electronic Design, July 20, 1960, p. 25)

I suppose we have all had days like this.

Sponsored Recommendations

Board-Mount DC/DC Converters in Medical Applications

March 27, 2024
AC/DC or board-mount DC/DC converters provide power for medical devices. This article explains why isolation might be needed and which safety standards apply.

Use Rugged Multiband Antennas to Solve the Mobile Connectivity Challenge

March 27, 2024
Selecting and using antennas for mobile applications requires attention to electrical, mechanical, and environmental characteristics: TE modules can help.

Out-of-the-box Cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity with AWS IoT ExpressLink

March 27, 2024
This demo shows how to enroll LTE-M and Wi-Fi evaluation boards with AWS IoT Core, set up a Connected Health Solution as well as AWS AT commands and AWS IoT ExpressLink security...

How to Quickly Leverage Bluetooth AoA and AoD for Indoor Logistics Tracking

March 27, 2024
Real-time asset tracking is an important aspect of Industry 4.0. Various technologies are available for deploying Real-Time Location.

Comments

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Electronic Design, create an account today!