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Q:
I’m a seventh grader. I’m doing a History Day project on the transistor and the impact it has had on our lives. I am in search of scientific
reports especially by John Bardeen. Also I would like to email or interview by phone anyone who is a professor or expert on transistors.
- Eric Bardet (age 13)
Fruitvale Jr. High, Bakersfield, California
A:
Dear Eric:
Thank you for your enquiry. As you may know, John Bardeen, inventor
of the transistor (with William Shockley and Walter Brittain), was a
professor in our department for many years. He actually won TWO Nobel
prizes--one for the transistor and one for the theory of
superconductivity (known as the BCS theory, for Bardeen, Cooper, and
Schrieffer--the three "inventors"). The official homepage that
commerates Professor Bardeen's work is
www.physics.uiuc.edu/people/jbardeen.htmlWe also have a brief publication that details the story of the
invention of the transistor, and I am mailing a copy of it to you
today.
Another interesting site that has a lot of information about different electronic devices is located at
http://www.howstuffworks.comTo get an idea of the economic impact of the invention of the
transistor--on just the computer industry in the U.S. alone--go to
www.aip.org/success/createsjobs/Good luck with your paper!
Celia
(published on 10/22/2007)
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