Re: What's with the twisted leads on the first transistor?

On Dec 17, 7:21 am, Michael <nleah...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hey there - with the recent anniversary of the transistor's invention,
pictures of the first transistor have been all over the place. It
brings up a question I've always wondered about: why are the leads
connected to it so twisted? I mean it looks like they're intentionally
twisted for some odd reason.

Anybody know?

Thanks!

-Michael

See: http://www.porticus.org/bell/images/transistor1.jpg

There are evidently two kinds of "twisted" lead visible. The big one
with rectangular loops appears to be a compression spring, which
maintains pressure on the contact between the flat slab of
semiconductor at the bottom and the triangle above it. I imagine it
was made with square bends so it could be tweaked in different
directions. The thinner coils of wire are probably for strain relief,
to mechanically isolate the stack of crystals from the plastic frame
and the external connections.

--
Joe
.

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