Question

Question #dfd73

Answer 1

Prior to transistors, triode tubes were used in computers. Disadvantages described below...

Explanation:

These tubes performed the same basic on/off switching operations that transistors now handle in computers. However, they had several disadvantages:

Much high power consumption meant computers were enormous power consumers and ran quite hot. Also, there lifespan was limited, and replacements had to be made often.

Switching rate was much lower than transistors, so the number of operations that cold be performed per second was far lower.

Physical size. These tubes could only be minimized to a limited extent, so computers were very large and heavy (room-sized!) devices.