How do these exist if the transistor was never invented in the Fallout universe? I can imagine the Institute may have developed the technology, but that doesn't mean it would be readily available to some schmuck out in the wasteland.

I'd imagine for reasons why the Pipboy exists in Fallout. A device with a battery that last forever, and an infinite storage compacity. Oh... and turrets and security robots that discriminates. Sides... the transistors did exist in the era.

Yeah, that's true. I guess those just stuck out as something that didn't quite fit with the rest of the aesthetic, too modern.

Eh... think about what a Holo and red dot scope actually is. It's really no more than a little laser projected onto the lens.

Well, they have had these technologies for over for over a hundred years, so it's entirely plausible they figured out a way to make certain weapon tools like red dot sights and such. I mean, we're talking about a society that perfected the ability to put fission energy in battery form. So it's quite possible they discovered their own way. Plus, considering the red dot is a predecessor of a reflex scope, which has been around forever and the holographic sight is a glorified magnifying lens, they aren't entirely impossible to make on their own.

Just googled them. Red DOt sight AND Holo scope's invention date was some time in the mid 1900s. So yes... it's in Fallout's erra.

Actually, we don't really know how much of the Post-Divergence timeline lines up. We know the divergence in timelines was somewhere just after World War 2, but even Post-Divergence it wasn't 100% different. (IE: Nixon was president, various tech of today was still invented albeit at unknown times and so on.)

In the Power of science and trial and error that is the way. These tech exist on Fallout. Same as our universe but different times and using different materials.

They can exist in Fallout. Technically they would have an even more efficient power source if not as environmentally friendly. I own a Holo myself. All you need is a power source, emitter, pattern, mirror, and lense.

very small triode vacuum tubes.

Actually, the transistor was invented in 2067 in Fallout's Universe.

This is super nitpicky, but they perfected fusion, not fission. In fission, high mass atoms split; in fusion, low mass atoms combine into higher mass elements. Also, holographic sights are just refracted lasers projected through a lens, and require no semiconductors.

And it certainly isn't too far-fetched to say that the Institute has made advances on transistor technology. Perhaps they've developed some form of microprocessor as well?

I was always curious about this in the fallout universe. Yes they perfected fusion ( I wish our current world would get on the ball with that) but by proxy perfected fission as well. Were the bombs used to destroy earth completely out of "Mass Assured Destruction"? It seems like it would either be that or cost efficiency. Could an effective fusion bomb even exist?

We can hope that those attachments require very high science level, and be rare in the world. That actually goes for a lot of these modded weapons. I hope it takes effort to mod the weapons, and that we wont be met with highly customized weapons all over the wasteland. In fact, what we are used to, and what would have been expected is weapons with quality less than that that was mass produced. 200 years of chaos is not the best growing grounds for technological advancements. Except for those institutes dedicated to just that.

Little off topic in the end there..

It's called a hydrogen bomb, and we have had them since the 50's.

Hydrogen bombs are not solely fusion. They are a hybrid fission/fusion bomb

I'm pretty sure the bombs used were fission bombs. They were relatively low yield, approximately 100-200 kilotons, compared with what we use today, resulting in much more...fallout; our current land-based Minuteman III missiles carry three thermonuclear warheads with a significantly higher yield of 300-500 kilotons. Fusion bombs already exist; thermonuclear weapons, aka hydrogen bombs work by using a primary fission reaction to trigger the fusion of hydrogen.

To be fair, are we dead sure there is only one way to make those kind of sights? Maybe the transistor is still not invented, yet they found other ways to replicate the same effect, remember this is a setting with working laser guns and power armour.

They use fission to start the fusion process. That's about it. Sure, you get some 'boom' from fission, but, most of the power of the bomb is derived from the fusion reaction.

The main explosive force of the hydrogen bomb is the fusion reaction. The fission bomb is essentially a "blasting cap" for it.

And that fission bomb is probably lit off by conventional explosives in an https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosive_lens configuration too. That's what the Fat Man-style bombs are. Would it stand to reason that such bombs should be called "hybrid conventional/fission" bombs?

Thanks for answering that. Not particularly adept at physics. I was more curious as to why fissionable products were used in what would otherwise be a "cleaner" bomb