Pioneered with the advent of the first transistor using semiconductor materials at Bell Labs by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, semiconductors have had a monumental impact on our society. You find them at the heart of microprocessor chips as well as transistors. Anything that’s computerized or uses radio waves depends on semiconductors. Today, most semiconductor chips and transistors are created with silicon. You may have heard expressions like “Silicon Valley” and the “silicon economy,” and that’s why — silicon is the heart of any electronic device.
This Day In Tech History
- 1984 - The Apple Macintosh was introduced in a famous Superbowl commercial.
- 1984 - The famous Superbowl commercial for the Apple Macintosh airs.
More Tech History
The first successful test of the point contact resistor occurs, creating a revolution in semiconductors. It would later replace the use of vacuum tubes in computers.
The BINAC computer is constructed by the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp., a fledgling company formed by John Eckert and John Mauchly.
Claude Shannon introduces the bit , the basic component of computation.
Norbert Wiener publishes "Cybernetics" , revolutionizing the study of artificial intelligence.
IBM completes the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator.