How would inventing the silicon semiconductor in the 1920s change naval development?
Short answerPotentially enormously, but the 1920s lack much of the theory and tooling needed to exploit it, so the development path is highly uncertain.
NotesA silicon semiconductor invented in the 1920s could change the development of radar, electronics, and computing. Its eventual effect would depend on technologies that had yet to develop, including relay logic, computing practice, manufacturing tools, and suitable sensors. One possibility is a rapid transformation; another is a delay of decades while engineers develop useful applications and the means to build them. Possessing the component would not by itself provide all the tools needed to create working systems around it. The scale of the change leaves its precise effect on naval development uncertain.