3 ms·

Well, there are lower power CMOS versions of the 555 available.

• Animats 11y ago
  A 555 timer chip can deliver 200mA at the output, so it can drive small lamps and relays directly. The output load usually dwarfs the current used for timing. So, for most applications, a lower power version is pointless.
  • swamp40 11y ago
    The CMOS version helps quite a bit when the 555 is configured for monostable or bistable mode.
  • ajnin 11y ago
    I doubt that most applications of the 555 are driving relays and lamps, it probably is mainly used to generate timing signals. But that's besides the point, the low power versions can function with low voltages, allowing to power the chip with a single 1.5V battery, which would be impossible with the standard version, so it's far from pointless.