High-level programming languages were also being developed at that time such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN. Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. Without this invention, space travel in the 1960s would not have been possible. The use of transistors marked a new beginning for the computer.Transistors were also much smaller and gave off virtually no heat compared to vacuum tubes.Transistors were found to conduct electricity faster and better than vacuum tubes.One transistor replaced the equivalent of 40 vacuum tubes. The transistor was faster, more reliable, smaller, and much cheaper to build than a vacuum tube.Differences between vacuum tube and transistor
