Question

Which was the first computer to use transistor instead of vacuum tubes?
(A) Intel-650
(B) Burroughs E-101
(C) Datamatic- 1000
(D) IBM- 1401
(E) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Initially the computers use to work on the vacuum tubes. They were heavy, bulky, occupy a lot of space and use to generate a lot of heat and as a result their power consumption was very high. Vacuum tubes were also known as the electron tubes. They were first used in 1904 and they were replaced by the transistors which are made from pn junction.

Complete answer:
The computers which work on vacuum tubes were called the first generation computers and the computer which works on the transistors are called second generation computers. The transistors have three terminals- emitter, base and the collector.They replace vacuum tubes in computers and they increase the working speed. IBM-1401 was the first computer to use transistors instead of the vacuum tubes.

So, the correct option is D.

Note: Because the transistor was so much smaller and consumed significantly less power, a computer system built with transistors was also much smaller, faster, and more efficient than a computer system built with vacuum tubes. Nowadays transistors are replaced by nano chips and blazing fast integrated circuits.