A.
Transistors
B.
Vacuum Tubes and Valves
C.
Integrated Circuits
D.
None of above
Correct answer is:
B. Vacuum Tubes and Valves
Explanation:
The correct answer is Vacuum Tubes and Valves because first-generation computing systems built in the 1940s and 1950s relied entirely on thermionic vacuum tubes to control electricity and perform calculations.
- Vacuum Tubes and Valves: This is the correct choice. Your original parameters had a truncated string ('Vacuum Tubes and'). First-generation computers like the ENIAC and UNIVAC used thousands of vacuum tubes. Because these tubes were large, generated immense heat, and broke down frequently, they required massive cooling infrastructure.
- Incorrect Options:
- Transistors: This is incorrect. Transistors are the defining component of second-generation computers (late 1950s to mid-1960s). They replaced vacuum tubes because they were significantly smaller, faster, cheaper, and more energy-efficient.
- Integrated Circuits: This is incorrect. Integrated Circuits (ICs) pioneered third-generation computing (mid-1960s to 1970s), combining hundreds of transistors onto a single silicon semiconductor chip.
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Chief component of first generation computer was ?Read More »
