On Oct. 3, 1950, three scientists at Bell Labs in New Jersey received a U.S. patent for what would become one of the most important inventions of the 20th century — the transistor. John Bardeen, ...

The future began 75 years ago this week with the invention of something small that’s considered the most manufactured item in human history. Odds are, you are surrounded by them right now. The ...

The future began 75 years ago with the invention of something small that’s now considered the most manufactured item in human history and the biggest thing since fire. This is a Marketplace special ...

Modern humans have existed for around 300,000 years, and in all the time we've been here, we've made a lot of things. In the early days, homo sapiens fashioned tools from flint and other materials, ...

The transistor quietly became the backbone of modern civilization. It replaced bulky vacuum tubes and made computers smaller, ...

Bell Labs gave its scientists the freedom to pursue basic research -- if they hadn't, the transistor would never have been invented. But the company's main goal was still to put inventions like this ...

Robert Gibney worked in William Shockley's lab when the point-contact transistor was invented. He doesn't usually get credit as one of the inventors of the transistor -- but some of his experiments ...

IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more. Two early transistors in a sample box ...