eli5: how does a transistor amplify an electrical current?

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William Shockley, one of the inventors of the transistor, once explained transistor-amplifiers this way:

>*”If you take a bale of hay and tie it to the tail of a mule and then strike a match and set the bale of hay on fire, and if you then compare the energy expended shortly thereafter by the mule with the energy expended by yourself in the striking of the match, you will understand the concept of amplification.”*

which seems to describe the concept but not the process.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

It doesn’t amplify anything. It uses a tiny amount of electricity to operate a gate to let a large amount of electricity flow through.

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