Transistor

A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power. It is the fundamental building block of modern electronic devices and is ubiquitous in modern electronic systems. The transistor revolutionized the field of electronics and paved the way for smaller and cheaper radios, calculators, and computers, among other things.

In the Fallout universe, circumstances involving the invention of the transistor are unclear as transistors have appeared throughout the series. Despite this, alternate theories have arisen such as "transistors not being invented at all in Fallout" or "being invented in 2067" which upon closer inspection have not been backed by concrete citations. Curiously, a 2003 discussion board speculates on the possibility that transistors were not invented in Fallout as if there was a lack of direct evidence at the time.

In light of alternate theories appearing as early as 2008, early developer notes or commentaries on transistors in Fallout are limited or non-existent. The first known comments from developers about transistors have emerged piecemeal after the release of Fallout 4 in 2015.

Background
One of the common explanations for the timeline divergence is that post-World War II humanity in the Fallout universe invested its technological efforts in further harnessing the atom and robotics rather than focusing on working to develop supercomputers and miniaturized electronics. For the most part, vacuum tubes appear to have taken over the role of transistors preventing the miniaturization of technology in Fallout leading to technology appearing old and outdated by modern standards.

Computers in the Fallout universe are far clunkier than the ones in our world and most still use monochromatic, text-based displays. The personal computer was never developed due to these limitations on compactness, and some computers still exist as large mainframes that can take up whole rooms. The users access them via terminals. Nonetheless, some mainframes are highly advanced in terms of processing power, such as those capable of running an artificial intelligence.

Microchips also do appear to exist and can be seen among common household items, super computers, and energy weapons alike throughout the series.

Possible invention in 2023
Jack Cabot directly mentions in a terminal entry that he's experimenting on some of the new transistors in the context of making his Amberlain field generator portable. He succeeds but has reservations about it working at all. It is unknown if the portable version of the Amberlain field generator is the one used at Parsons State Insane Asylum or not, but there is no mention of the portable version past the single entry.

Alleged invention in 2067
A prevalent citation is that the transistor was invented in 2067 or a decade before the Great War in 2077. An additional corollary is that the transistor was not invented in Fallout in 1947 and thus diverges from our timeline.

However, no direct proof of either statement can be found as well as whether or not it was intended since the beginning of the series. The first known comment by a Fallout developer regarding the transistor was made in 2016.

Fallout and Fallout 2
Transistors are not mentioned in the Fallout Bible. Fallout Bible 8, however does briefly mention vacuum tubes as part of the aesthetic.



However, typical 80s/90s desktop computers are seen as map props in Fallout 1 and 2.

Fallout Tactics
The Reavers have various quotes about the transistor.

While the Junction City enforcers mention silicon.

Fallout: New Vegas
One of Robert House's quotes is:

Silicon is famously used in the creation of semiconductors, integrated circuits, and transistors and in this case, as shorthand for an electronic device.

Fallout 4
The Cabot House terminal entries for 09/05/2023 directly mention transistors:

Whether the transistors were newly invented in 2023 or have been around prior to that date is unknown.

The Listening Post Bravo terminal entries mention a "transistor radio":

One of Proctor Quinlan's possible responses mentions a "transistor radio."

Fallout 76
The quest The Messenger requires a Memory transistor for completion.

The Scoot's shack terminal entries mention a "transistor radio" manufactured by General Atomics International.

Post-2015 developer commentaries
Gradually after the release of Fallout 4 in 2015, developers revealed comments on the transistor to limited audiences.

Earlier developer comments are not known at this time.

Joel Burgess (2016)
The earliest known developer comment regarding the status of the transistor in Fallout comes from a November 4, 2016 livestream at Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy. Developer Joel Burgess mentions the following in response to a question about world-building near the end of the presentation:

Leonard Boyarsky (2018)
In January 2018, YouTuber Matt Barton, in a personal interview, chatted with developer Leonard Boyarsky 21 years after releasing the game.

In response to the question about what were the inspirations behind the very unique 1950s sci-fi theme for Fallout and the transition away from a pure Mad Max style, Boyarsky mentioned the following on how he initially starting calling on vacuum tubes for their aesthetic value:

Behind the scenes
The field-effect transistor was patented by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in Canada in 1925, in the United States in 1926 and 1928, and by German inventor Oskar Heil in 1934. A functional point-contact transistor was developed by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain of Bell Labs in 1947 and by Herbert Mataré and Heinrich Welker of Compagnie des Freins et Signaux in 1948. In fact, two of the four patents related to 1947 transistor were rejected by the Patent Office because of the Lilienfeld patents