Three Generations of Computing Technology - Vacuum tubes, Transistors, Computer chips

About this Artwork General-purpose computers started in the 1950s using vacuum tubes for electronic switches. These replaced the special purpose relay-based calculators that preceded them. In the 1960s they transitioned to transistors with a major increase in reliability and speed, lowered cost. The 1970s and beyond have been dominated by integrated circuit silicon chips. The density of transistors on these chips went from single digits to the billions in the 21st century, roughly doubling every 2 years. Here are artifacts used in this artwork: Section A:  1st Generation - Vacuum Tubes 1, 2, 3  IBM Computer Vacuum Tubes  Section B:  2nd Generation - Transistors General Electric 2N107 Sylvania 2N385 Philco 2N223 Western Electric (Bell Labs) 2N559 Lockheed Avionics 2N1152 Section C:  3rd Generation - Integrated Circuits AMI 2063 Serial Communication Chip Mostek 5002 4-Digit Counter/Display Decoder Motorola 356 ECL 3-Input OR/NOR National Semiconductor 945 Flip-Flop Intel 8752 Microcon