«Main elements»

The main part of the components of radio circuits are based on semiconductor materials. And to learn more about the history of the diodes, transistors and other components, we need to learn about what they are based on. As a rule, such elements of the periodic system of chemical elements as silicon and germanium are used as semiconductors.

Silicon was first obtained in 1811 by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis Thénard by passing silicon fluoride vapors over metallic potassium, but they did not understand that this was a new element, so they did not attach any significance to this.

Germanium: In 1870, Mendeleev, on the basis of the periodic law, predicted a still undiscovered element of the fourth group, calling it Ecasilicia, and described its basic properties. In 1886, the German chemist Clemens Winkler discovered this element by chemical analysis of the mineral arhyrodite.

Thus, new elements were subsequently discovered which gave impetus to the development of radio engineering and science in general.