Technology MCQs

The invention of the transistor, or semiconductor, was one of the most important developments leading to the personal computer revolution. What company invented the transistor in 1947?

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A. International Business Machines
B. MITS
C. Xerox
D. Bell Laboratories
✅ The correct answer is option D.
The transistor, which essentially is a solid-state electronic switch, replaced the much less suitable vacuum tube. Because the transistor consumed significantly less power, a computer system built with transistors was much smaller, faster and more efficient than a computer system built with vacuum tubes.

When measuring the characteristics of a small-signal amplifier, say for a radio receiver, one might be concerned with its “Noise…”?

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A. Fundamental
B. Fall
C. Force
D. Figure
✅ The correct answer is option D.
“Noise figure” is one critical parameter for determining the “quality” of a low-noise, small-signal, amplifier, and perhaps more importantly, the sensitivity of the overall receiver system. It is especially important for VHF (very high frequency) – and higher frequency – designs where most of the undesired “noise” (noise that masks or overpowers the desired signals) is generated internal to the electronics itself. In HF (high frequency) applications, atmospheric noise plays a much larger role in determining overall useful sensitivity, so a circuit’s “noise figure” is less important.