Point contact transistor

01 Dec 22

The Device That Changed Everything

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Metallurgy & Material Science

I was roaming around the IEEE Spectrum office a couple of months ago, looking at the display cases the IEEE History Center has installed in the corridor that runs along the conference rooms at 3 Park. They feature photos of illustrious engineers, plaques for IEEE milestones, and a handful of…

30 Nov 22

John Bardeen’s Terrific Transistorized Music Box

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Metallurgy & Material Science

On 16 December 1947, after months of work and refinement, the Bell Labs physicists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain completed their critical experiment proving the effectiveness of the point-contact transistor. Six months later, Bell Labs gave a demonstration to officials from the U.S. military, who chose not to classify the…

The Device That Changed Everything

John Bardeen’s Terrific Transistorized Music Box

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