New Works in the Field of Semiconductors

We consider semiconductors to occupy an intermediate¹ place between metals and insulators. Academician Joffe, a fa­mous Soviet scientist, found transistors to be of great interest not only for physics, but also for future technology

Transistors made it possible to design compact, small-dimensioned electronic devices, which consume very little power.

The transistors are successfully used for direct transforma­tion of heat energy into electrical energy by means of thermal elements. We know them to be used to transform radiant energy into electricity with the help of photocells or so-called solar batteries. In later years light sources and lasers were built on the basis of transistors.

Transistors revolutionized radio engineering and electro­nics. Because of their small size, the absence of incandescence and other properties, transistors make it possible to produce designs which cannot be achieved with vacuum lamps.

Transistors are extremely sensitive to external influences. Even thousandths of one per cent of admixtures change their electrical conductive properties by hundreds of thousands of times. They are very sensitive to the action of light, nuclear particles, pressure, etc

Пояснение к тексту

1. intermediate— промежуточный

XIV. Переведите, пользуясь словарем: