Transistors are the fundamental building blocks of digital circuits due to their ability to amplify or switch electronic signals.

Logic gates perform logical operations on input signals to produce a desired output, forming the basis of digital computation.

The NAND gate is considered the universal gate because it can be used to implement any other logic gate by combining multiple NAND gates.

Combinational logic circuits produce an output based solely on the current inputs, while sequential logic circuits have memory elements that store past inputs and affect the current output.

Flip-flops are sequential logic circuits that can store information and have a memory element, allowing them to retain their state even after the input signals change.

Multiplexers are used to select one of several input signals and route it to a single output, allowing for efficient data transmission and routing.

The NOT gate is an inverter that produces an output that is the logical negation of its input.

Solid-state logic offers several advantages over vacuum tube technology, including smaller size, lower power consumption, and faster switching speed.

Silicon is the most widely used material for transistor fabrication due to its abundance, ease of processing, and excellent electrical properties.

Buffers are used to isolate one circuit from another, preventing unwanted interactions and maintaining signal integrity.

The XOR gate is an exclusive-OR gate that produces an output that is true only when one of its inputs is true and the other is false.

Static logic circuits maintain a constant power consumption, while dynamic logic circuits consume less power but require periodic refreshing to maintain data.

A half-adder is a combinational logic circuit that performs addition of two binary digits using an XOR gate for the sum and an AND gate for the carry.

Decoders are used to convert binary code into a set of output signals, each representing a specific state or value.

NAND gates can be used as buffers by connecting all inputs together and using the output as the buffered signal.