Diode vs. Transistor

Diodenoun

(electronics) An electronic device that allows current to flow in one direction only; used chiefly as a rectifier.

Diodenoun

a thermionic tube having two electrodes; used as a rectifier

Diodenoun

a semiconductor that consists of a p-n junction

Diode

A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts current primarily in one direction (asymmetric conductance); it has low (ideally zero) resistance in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other. A diode vacuum tube or thermionic diode is a vacuum tube with two electrodes, a heated cathode and a plate, in which electrons can flow in only one direction, from cathode to plate.

Transistornoun

A solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals, which can be used for amplification, switching, voltage stabilization, signal modulation, and many other functions.

Transistornoun

A transistor radio.

Transistornoun

a component used in electronic devices consisting of three regions of at least two types of a semiconducting material, such as doped silicon, connected to each other and to three electrodes in a conducting path so as to modify the current or voltage in an electronic circuit.

Transistornoun

a semiconductor device capable of amplification

Transistornoun

a semiconductor device with three connections, capable of amplification in addition to rectification.

Transistornoun

a portable radio using circuits containing transistors rather than valves.

Transistor

A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power. Transistors are one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics.