Transistors

If you move electricity through partially conducting rock or semi-conductors then you have a transistor. A transistor means literally "trans" across "resister" in other words it acts like a variable resister. A small flow of electrons coming in from the side "base", controls the overall resistance or main flow between what's called the "emitter" and "collector". Frequency is just how fast you turn on and off the flow. These things are not magical they don't create electrons they just control the flow of existing electrons that are in the pipe or conductor already. "Amplification" just means a small flow controlling a larger flow.

To an extent think of electricity in terms of simple fluid flow of particles. Use the water analogy. Kink a water hose and you have resistance to flow or a resister. Fill a bucket or reservoir and you have a charged battery. Put your thumb over the end of a water hose and hold back the pressure - this is analogous to voltage. High pressure of electrons trying to push through the wire is high voltage. Low pressure of electrons is low voltage.

Comparing the amount of water molecules coming out of a garden hose to fill a bucket, to that of a fire hose will give the idea of the term "amperage". Amperage is the amount of current flow and is a given large but finite number of electrons passing a given point in a conductor for each second. One ampere equals to 6,300,000,000,000,000,000 electrons/second passing a given point in a conductor. High amperage circuits need bigger pipes or conductors to carry the flow.

Make the conductor (tungsten) small and put about 1 amp of electrons through it at 110 volts of pressure and you have the filament of a 100 watt incandescent light bulb. The electrons are trying to get through that pipe (conductor) so fast bouncing into the molecules of the conductor that they cause more motion of the molecules thus it heats up. The molecules get so hot that they want to give off some of there energy. If our bodies got hot we would perspire and water evaporation given off would cool us. What molecules do when they get to hot is emit energy in the form a frequency of electromagnetic radiation. If high enough in frequency we can see it as light.

Offered by Mike.