ONE sure-fire way to kill any technology-related conversation is to talk about vacuum tubes. Bear with us though, because they're incredibly important.
Before there were semiconductors in our electronic gadgets, we used vacuum tubes. Both vacuum tubes and semiconductors carried out the same function, but the vacuum tube was a monster that required immense physical space and energy. And at its height, the vacuum tube technology was employed in the ENIAC, the world's first digital computer, built in 1946. It weighed over 30 tons, consumed 200 kilowatts of electricity, but was somewhat unreliable.
Semiconductors changed all of that. The chip that powers your mobile phone and computer is made possible...
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