Inventors
Bardeen, Brattain, Shockley
1947 demonstration · The transistor at Bell Labs
Murray Hill, New Jersey
Three researchers, one germanium crystal, a Christmas-week demonstration: a solid switch that did not need a glowing heater. Shockley’s later junction theory scaled; his later life also includes a dark chapter of scientific racism. Chronotech names the device and the team, and does not wash the ledger.
Why it mattered
- Beat the vacuum tube on size, heat, and reliability.
- Became the atom of every later chip.
