Lesson 1 Development of Electronics 电子技术发展史

Text

The history of electronics is a story of the twentieth century and three key components are vacuum tube[1], transistor, and integrated circuit.

A vacuum tube (Fig. 1-1) also called a electron tube is a sealed glass in which electrons flow between electrodes separated by vacuum[2]. Vacuum tube was invented in the early 20th century. With the invention of vacuum tube it became possible to amplify and transmit the electrical energy[3]. The first applications of electron tubes were in radio communications[4]. Communication technology was able to make huge advances before World War II as more specialized vacuum tubes were made for many applications[5]. Radio broadcasting grew astronomically[6] in the 1920s and radio became the primary source of entertainment[7] (Fig. 1-2) . Television was invented in 1927 and finally became widely available. Development of the television as an electronic device benefited from many improvements made to radar[8] during World War II. Radar (Fig. 1-3) measures the distance and direction to an object[9] using echoes of radio microwaves. It is used for aircraft and ship detection.

After the war, electron tubes were used to develop the first computers (Fig. 1-4) , but they were impractical because of the size of the electronic components. In 1947, the transistor was invented by a team of engineers from Bell Laboratories[10], for which they also received a Nobel Prize[11]. The transistor functions like the vacuum tube, but it is tiny by comparison[12], weighs less, consumes less power, is much more reliable, and is cheaper to manufacture (Fig. 1-5) . Transistors have replaced vacuum tubes in just about all electronics devices.

The first integrated circuit was developed in the 1950s by Texas Instruments[13] Company. The first integrated circuits contained only a few transistors, large-scale integration (LSI) and verylarge-scale integration (VLSI)[14] followed by the mid-1970s. VLSI technology permits us to build systems with hundreds of thousands of[15] transistors on a single chip. Video cameras, portable telephones, and personal computers are only examples of devices made possible by integrated circuits.

New Words and Technical Terms

Notes to the Text

[1]vacuum tube：真空管是一种电子元件，因为参与工作的电极被封装在一个真空的玻璃容器内，所以被称为真空管。真空管有时会被称为“电子管”或“胆”。

[2]a sealed glass in which electrons flow between electrodes separated by vacuum：in which关系代词在定语从句中作介词宾语时，由介词+关系代词引导定语从句。separated by vacuum过去分词修饰electrodes。句子可以翻译为：在密封的玻璃管中，电子在由真空隔离的电极间流动。

[3]it became possible to amplify and transmit the electrical energy：it代替不定式to amplify and transmit the electrical energy在句中作形式主语。句子可以翻译为：放大和传送电能成为可能。

[4]radio communication：无线电通信。

[5]as more specialized tubes were made for many applications：as引导状语从句。句子可以翻译为：随着越来越多的适用于各种用途的专门真空管制造出来。

[6]grew astronomically：天文数字地巨大增长。

[7]radio became the primary source of entertainment：无线电广播成为（家庭）娱乐的主要来源。

[8]benefited from many improvements made to radar：得益于在雷达方面做出的许多进步。

[9]Radar measures the distance and direction to an object：雷达测量一个物体的距离和方向。

[10]Bell Laboratories：美国贝尔实验室，创建于1925年，负责改进电信设备和从事与军事有关的研究工作，有大量技术发明和科学发现，如有声电影系统、数字计算机、晶体管等。

[11]Nobel Prize：诺贝尔奖，是以瑞典著名化学家、炸药发明人诺贝尔的遗产作为基金创立的。授予世界各国在物理、化学、生理或医学、文学、和平及经济等领域对人类作出重大贡献的学者。

[12]it is tiny by comparison：相比之下，它（晶体管）很小。

[13]Texas Instrument：美国德州仪器公司，简称TI，是全球领先的数字信号处理与模拟技术的半导体集成电路公司，总部位于美国德克萨斯州。

[14]large-scale integration (LSI) and very-large-scale integration (VLSI) ：集成电路按集成度高低的不同可分为小规模集成电路(SSI)、中规模集成电路(MSI)、大规模集成电路(LSI)、超大规模集成电路(VLSI)、特大规模集成电路(ULSI)和巨大规模集成电路(GSI)等。大规模集成电路是在1970年出现的，在一块硅片上包含103～105个元件或100～10000个逻辑门。超大规模集成电路是20世纪70年代后期研制成功的，在一块芯片上集成的元件数超过10万个，或门电路数超过万门的集成电路，主要用于制造存储器和微处理器。

[15]hundreds of thousands of：几十万，成千上万的。

Exercises

Ⅰ.Choose the best technical term to complete the following statements.

1.The development of electronics has had three important steps:（ ）, （ ）and（ ）.

A. computer B. integrated circuit C. vacuum tube D. transistor

2.The first application of electron tubes were in（ ）.

A. radio B. television C. communication D. broadcasting

3.（ ）had surpassed radio for home use and entertainment.

A. Communication B. Television C. Video camera D. Personal computer

4.Using echoes of radio microwaves, radar can detect（ ）.

A. a car B. a ship C. a plane D. rain

5.The first electronic computer included 18,000（ ）and used 200 kilowatts of electrical power.

A. transistors B. vacuum tubes C. ICs D. electronic components

6.A transistor is a semiconductor device used to（ ）electronic signals.

A. produce B. amplify C. reduce D. switch

7.In most applications, vacuum tubes have been replaced by（ ）and other semiconductor devices.

A. electron tubes B. transistors C. silicon D. germanium

8.The most advanced（ ）are the microprocessors, which control everything from computers and cellular phones to digital microwave ovens.

A. semiconductors B. wafers C. transistors D. integrated circuits

Ⅱ.Translate the following sentences into Chinese.

1.Marconi pioneered the development of the wireless telegraph in 1896 and long-distance radio communication in 1901.

2.Vacuum tubes strengthened weak audio signals and allowed these signals to be superimposed on radio waves.

3.Transistor is like solid state equivalent of vacuum tube, with no vacuum and glass tube; electrons move from cathode to anode (they are called source and drain now) and the electron flow is controlled by a gate which acts similar to the grid in vacuum tube.

4.Compared to vacuum tube, transistors were smaller, more durable, reliable, consume less power and produce less heat.

5.Texas Instrument made huge contribution to the world of electronics: the integrated circuit.

6.Jack Kilby, an engineer in TI, the inventor of integrated circuit, became one of the recipients of the Nobel prize in Physics.