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The Network >> Chips and Circuit Boards
With the invention of the silicon chip in 1958 came the
possibility to make computer components much more compact than
before. The early computers of the 1940s and 1950s depended on
vacuum tubes and were very large, with a single computer filling an
entire room. After the invention of the transistor in 1947, bulky
vacuum tubes were replaced and it was possible to develop new
technologies such as electronic switching systems. Silicon chips
installed on circuit boards allowed computers to become even smaller
and lighter in the 1970s.
Small computer units were needed for the space race in the 1960s:
NASA required high performance from the equipment it sent into
space, but it also needed to minimize the weight carried by the
launch vehicles. Solid-state circuits could function reliably
despite the rigours of space travel and were lighter in weight than
earlier options.
These new developments in circuitry were soon introduced in
business machines and appliances. Reliability and compact size were
the main selling points of the new equipment. The first trials of
computerized telephone switching equipment took place in the 1960s,
but the equipment was not widely available for purchase until the
1970s. However, computerized support for such office functions as
directory assistance and service requests was introduced in Edmonton
in the late 1960s.
Today’s electronic switching equipment uses circuit boards like
those found in personal computers and calculators. The circuit
boards contain different levels of circuitry built onto the platform
unit. Different packages are manufactured for different purposes and
can be customized for special installation by selecting different
options.
When a problem arises, a circuit board can be removed and
replaced quickly, a marked contrast to the labour-intensive repair
and maintenance needed with earlier systems. The switching equipment
is compact and can handle a large volume of telephone traffic in a
small installation space.
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