Chapter 1
The spark at Bell Labs
Chapter 2
The traitorous eight and silicon's debut
Chapter 3
Printing with light on a microscopic scale
Chapter 4
The global chip highway
YOUR GOAL
Master of From transistor to microchip
Ch 1 · The spark at Bell Labs
steve The spark at Bell Labs
Tiny switch, Bell Labs made it, Sparked the silicon age, can you believe it?
steve Early transistors used germanium, but silicon proved far superior for handling high heat and abundance.
steve Three physicists at Bell Labs invented the point-contact transistor, changing electronics forever.
Fun Fact
First silicon transistor: In 1954, Texas Instruments revealed the first commercial silicon transistor by dropping a working one into a beaker of hot oil to prove its heat resistance.
Glossary
transistor (noun)
A semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power. John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley invented the device at Bell Laboratories in December 1947.
A semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power. John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley invented the device at Bell Laboratories in December 1947.
Quiz
In what year did Bell Labs scientists successfully demonstrate the first working transistor?
Quiz
What process describes adding tiny impurities to silicon to change its electrical conductivity?
Quiz
Which three scientists shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing the transistor?
Quiz
Why did silicon eventually replace germanium as the preferred semiconductor material?
Quiz
What common natural resource is the primary source of the silicon used in microchips?