What is a Diode?
Answer:
A diode is an electronic device which unidirectionally conducts current.

The term Diode usually refers to two-terminal P-N junction semiconductors. 
Diodes can be considered a type of Check Valve, because it allows electricity to flow in one direction but not the other.

Diode operation was discovered by Frederick Guthrie in 1873.  He discovered that a positively-charged current can be discharged through a white-hot metal plate, but a negatively-charged current could not be discharged.

There are many different types of semiconductor diodes.  Avalanche Diodes, which conducts in a reverse direction if the current exceeds the bias, a system usually found in surge protectors; Crystal Diodes, which are obsolete but were used in crystal radios; Constant-Current Diodes, which allow the voltage to rise to a certain point then level off; Tunnel Diodes, which use quantum tunneling to amplify signals.  Tunnel Diodes are most resistant to nuclear blasts.  Gunn Diodes, which are microwave oscillators; and many others.
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