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How a transistor works

Ben Eater4 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
847K views · explainer · evergreen · Uploaded 2015-03-20

Ben Eater gives a detailed look at how an NPN bipolar junction transistor works and what it does. It is an eleven-minute explanation aimed at building real understanding of the device.

HN commenters prefer it over other transistor explanations as an enlightening starting point that leads into building logic gates and a CPU.

Electronics & circuit designSemiconductors & chip manufacturing

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4 comments from Hacker News

@news_to_me2020 · in “Black silicon photodetector breaks the 100% efficiency limit”

Great explanation — although only a week or so ago I wouldn't have understood a lot of it. Knowing how transistors work helps a lot: [VIDEO]

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@ceronman2022 · in “How Transistors Work [video]”

This is a good explanation, but I prefer the one by Ben Eater: How semiconductor works: [LINK] How a transistor works: [VIDEO]

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@npilk2022 · in “How do transistors work, anyway?”

As someone who is not an electrical engineer, I found Ben Eater's videos on how semiconductors work and how transistors work interesting and enlightening. How semiconductors work: [LINK] How a transistor works: [VIDEO]

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@1000100_10001012023 · in “From Nand to Tetris (2017)”

Aside from his basic 8-bit CPU, Ben Eater goes into how transistors work too: [VIDEO] . Once you've got transistors, his videos walk you through making gates. Once you've got gates, he switches to the 74xx series and builds a CPU.

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