Read The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation Online
Authors: Jon Gertner
Kelly and, 157–62, 307
Sandia Labs, 159–61, 271
World War I, 28, 29, 60
World War II,
see
World War II
Miller, Stewart, 258
Millikan, Robert, 14–16, 27, 28, 38, 43, 61, 144, 168, 192
Jewett and, 16–17, 22, 24
Kelly and, 16
oil-drop experiment of, 15–16, 22, 152, 267
missiles, 248
Nike, 160–61, 164, 182
MIT, 38, 68
Shannon as professor at, 145–47, 317–18, 319
Shockley as student at, 54–55, 56, 88
transistors and, 105–6
mobile phones, 3, 131, 227, 233–34, 279–83, 284, 286–97, 335
Molnar, Julius, 236–37, 262, 263–64, 266–68
Monarch,
178, 179
Moore, Gordon, 181, 251, 290, 308–9
Moore, H. R., 96
Moore’s law, 308
Morse, Philip, 55, 71
Morse, Samuel F. B., 224
Morton, Jack, 108–9, 110, 112, 113, 116, 152, 163, 168, 170, 197, 210, 223, 250, 252, 253, 267, 311–13
Morton triode, 197
Motorola, 279–80, 295–96, 297
music, computer, 225, 244, 325–27
NASA, 208, 210–11, 215–17, 220, 221, 224, 248
National Academy of Sciences, 306, 311, 344
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), 247, 261
National Security Agency (NSA), 147, 246, 247, 249, 342
Nature,
338
NCR, 333
Netscape, 334
New Scientist,
247
New Yorker,
192, 196, 242
New York Times,
31, 62, 64, 199, 222, 224, 233, 273, 301, 302, 337, 356
New York World’s Fair, 228–31, 262
Nike missiles, 160–61, 164, 182
Nobel Prize, 2, 14, 37, 43, 56, 181–82, 184, 244, 317, 322, 331, 355
noise, 292
Noll, Mike, 237, 243
Noyce, Robert, 181, 251, 252–54, 262, 290
nuclear weapons, 51, 59–60, 65–66, 74, 104, 159, 160, 356
Nyquist, Harry, 135
Odlyzko, Andrew, 334
Ohl, Russell, 84–85, 86
oil-drop experiment, 15–16, 22, 152, 267
Oliver, Barney, 126, 197, 319, 323, 358
O’Neill, Eugene, 221, 222
Oppenheimer, Robert, 155, 157
Organization Man, The
(Whyte), 184
oscillating elements, 97, 104
O’Sullivan, William, 210
Packard, Dave, 308
pagers, 229, 287–88
Paine, Thomas, 12
patents, 46, 57, 98
licensing of, 182–83, 186, 251, 270
Nyquist and, 135
for telephone, 17–18, 98
for transistor, 97–100, 107, 111
PCM (pulse code modulation), 126–27, 129, 197, 234–35, 323
Pearson, Gerald, 87, 88, 91, 96, 112, 166, 171, 172, 316
Pfann, Bill, 114, 134
photography, digital, 261
photolithography, 251, 254
Physical Review,
100
Pickering, William, 210
Picturephone, 229–31, 233, 235, 236, 260, 262–65, 279, 289, 296, 333
Pierce, John, 2, 3, 38–39, 189–204, 212–13, 225–27, 232, 234, 238, 242, 246, 247, 249, 253, 265, 267, 273, 278, 285, 297, 300, 304, 311, 323–27, 332, 343, 344, 348–50, 352, 357–60
antitrust suit and, 273–74
Baker and, 238, 243–44
Brattain and, 197
at Caltech, 191–93, 324, 325
“Don’t Write: Telegraph,” 202–3
early life of, 191–92
How to Build and Fly Gliders,
189, 190, 192, 200
Japan Prize awarded to, 359
Kelly and, 195–96, 306–7, 345–46
lasers and, 255, 256, 258, 276
mobile phones and, 282–83
music and, 225, 244, 325–27
New York World’s Fair and, 228–31
Parkinson’s of, 323
Picturephone and, 230
retirement of, 267
satellite work of, 203–4, 205, 207–27, 228, 254
Shannon and, 196–97, 201, 225, 318, 323–24
Shockley and, 194–95, 197, 225
traveling wave tube and, 198–201, 202, 205–6, 207–8, 210
Wells and, 201–2
writing career of, 200–201, 202–3
Piore, Emmanuel, 306
plasma physics, 257
Playboy,
314
Poe, Edgar Allan, 124
Pollak, Henry, 123, 238, 239–40
Porter, Phil, 286, 287–88, 291, 294, 295
President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB), 247, 248
pulse code modulation (PCM), 126–27, 129, 197, 234–35, 323
Purdue University, 97, 100, 105
quantum mechanics, 42, 55, 81, 202
Quarles, Donald, 50
quartz, 51, 62
Rabi, Isidor Isaac, 43, 207
radar, 60, 64–67, 71, 73, 86, 134, 157, 195, 270, 294
Distant Early Warning line, 161, 182
magnetron and, 67–69, 70, 71
radio, 27, 47, 66–67, 76, 177, 255, 258, 279–80, 290, 292, 294
astronomy, 106
Raytheon, 163
RCA, 163, 251, 303, 348
Reader’s Digest,
178
Rice, Steve, 357
Ring, Doug, 281–82, 286
Riordan, Michael, 105, 354
Ross, Ian, 180, 221, 239, 245, 250–53, 270–71, 301, 309, 314, 327
Ross, Pearley, 53
Rowell, John, 154
rubber, 82, 242–43
Saarinen, Eero, 284–85
Sandia Labs, 159–61, 271
satellites, 203–4, 205, 207–27, 261
Communications Satellite Act and, 224
Echo, 212–20, 221, 222, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 244, 254, 323, 340
Explorer, 208
Sputnik, 208
Telstar, 220, 221–24, 225, 226, 228, 229, 340
Scaff, Jack, 84, 85, 86
Schawlow, Arthur, 254–55, 257
Schon, J. Hendrik, 337
Schrödinger, Erwin, 37
Schwartz, G. E., 63–64
Science,
331
Scientific American,
127, 137, 138, 200, 258, 321
Seattle, Century 21 Exposition in, 228–29
Seitz, Fred, 54–55, 245, 309
semiconductors, 83–86, 87, 90, 92–95, 97, 99, 101, 102, 151, 163, 169, 251–52, 276
Moore’s law and, 308
chips, 252–53, 308
Shannon, Betty, 133, 137, 138–39, 145, 146, 147, 318, 321, 322–23
Shannon, Claude Elwood, 2–3, 115–35, 136–48, 150, 184, 185, 226, 232, 234, 242, 243, 247, 250–51, 267, 292, 317–23, 341, 342, 350, 357
Alzheimer’s of, 322, 323
Baker and, 244
bust of, 340
in California, 146–47
chess program of, 136, 137–38, 143, 322
computing and, 117–18, 136–44
cryptography and, 124–25, 131, 141, 147
death of, 322
information theory of, 125, 128–30, 135, 136, 141, 142, 149, 151, 185–86, 202, 281, 318–19
juggling of, 145, 147, 148, 319–21, 323
Kyoto Prize awarded to, 322
labs named after, 335
letters to, 141, 147–48
master’s thesis of, 118, 123
as MIT professor, 145–47, 317–18, 319
as part-time employee at Bell Labs, 148
Pierce and, 196–97, 201, 225, 318, 323–24
radio interview with, 136–37
resignation from Bell Labs, 146, 147
stock market and, 319
Theseus Mouse project of, 138–40, 141, 323
ultimate machine of, 142–43
unfinished and unpublished papers of, 146, 323
unicycles of, 145
Shewhart, Walter, 49–50
Shive, John, 103
Shockley, Emma, 313
Shockley, William, 2, 38, 40, 41, 43, 44, 52–58, 59–60, 63, 68, 69, 71–74, 79, 81, 88, 89, 92, 95, 96, 108, 133, 134, 136, 149, 151, 163, 185, 186, 242, 266, 267, 285, 307–15, 317, 342, 347, 357, 358
amplifier work of, 57–58
at ASWORG, 71–72
Baker and, 313–14
at Caltech, 53–54, 192
as consultant at Bell Labs, 311–13
death of, 315
early life of, 53–54, 100–101
Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors,
112
Elmendorf and, 312
“field effect” theory of, 90–91, 92, 101
Fisk and, 234, 313
Kelly and, 56
at MIT, 54–55, 56, 88
Morton and, 311–13
Murray Hill complex and, 75, 76
Nobel Prize awarded to, 2, 181–82, 244
Pierce and, 194–95, 197, 225
racial theories of, 2, 309–15
resignation from Bell Labs, 180–82, 307
solid-state work of, 43, 79, 83, 86–90, 92, 102, 103, 112
transistor work of, 99–105, 107, 110, 111, 115–16, 134, 135, 166–67, 168, 316
Shockley Semiconductor, 180–81, 225, 244–45, 251, 290, 308–9, 310, 314, 346
Shurkin, Joel, 72, 315
silicon, 83–86, 87, 93–95, 166–72, 252
diffused, 169–70, 171, 254
solar battery, 4, 170–72, 206, 208
Silicon Valley, 181, 308, 346–48
Singleton, Henry, 319
Skaade, Helvar, 54
Slepian, David, 132, 141, 143, 148, 357
Smith, Walter Bedell, 141
solar battery, 4, 170–72, 206, 208
solid circuits, 253
solid-state physics, 43, 79, 80, 81, 86–91, 92, 102, 103, 105, 112, 134, 150–51
Sommerfeld, Arnold, 42
sonar, 65
Soviet Union, 246–47
Sputnik satellite of, 208
Sparks, Morgan, 110
Sputnik, 208
Stanford University, 181
steam engine time, 289
Stibbitz, George, 123
stimulated emission, 206–7, 254
submarines, 71, 80, 88
Sullivan, Mark, 174
Summit University, 347
surface states, 92–93
switching, 52, 97, 117, 118, 123, 136, 155, 232, 250, 252, 339
electronic, 229, 231–34, 235, 260, 261, 290–91
Szilard, Leo, 60
Tanenbaum, Morris, 166–70, 181, 251, 253–54, 299, 300, 302, 351–52
TASI (Time Assignment Speech Interpolation), 183–84
TAT-1, 175–80
Teal, Gordon, 86–87, 109–10, 168
Telecommunications Act, 328–29
Teledyne, 319
telegraph, 126, 224, 260
telephones, 17–19, 126, 134, 155, 260, 263
carbon granules in, 12, 20
diaphragms in, 82
long-distance calling, 20–24, 33–34, 37, 47, 173–74, 175–80, 229
mobile, 3, 131, 227, 233–34, 279–83, 284, 286–97, 335
outdoor equipment for, 50
patent for, 17–18, 98
PCM and, 126–27, 129
problems with, 47–48
sheathing on cables for, 242
touch-tone buttons on, 229, 233
transatlantic service, 37, 175–80, 183–84, 203, 205, 211
Teletype, 49
television, 220, 283
Telstar, 220, 221–24, 225, 226, 228, 229, 340
Temin, Peter, 269
Terman, Frederick, 181, 347
Tesla, Nikola, 12
Texas Instruments, 251, 252
Theseus, 138–40, 141, 323
Theurer, Henry, 84, 85
THROBAC, 142
Time,
140, 165, 308, 333
Tomkins, Calvin, 196
Tordella, Louis, 249
Townes, Charles, 39–40, 41, 43, 60–61, 206–7, 254
laser work of, 254–55, 257
stimulated emission work of, 206–7
transatlantic phone cable, 37, 175–80, 183–84, 203, 205, 211
transistors, 3, 4, 98–114, 115–16, 127–28, 134, 135, 140, 150–51, 155, 163–72, 179, 180, 183, 185–86, 197, 207, 229, 244, 245, 250–53, 281, 308, 315–16, 341, 343, 349, 359
junction, 102–4, 107, 110, 111, 134
licensing of technology for, 112
Moore’s law and, 308
naming of, 98, 197
Nobel Prize for work on, 181–82, 244
patents for, 97–100, 107, 111
point-contact, 102–4, 107–8, 110, 112
quality of, 253
tyranny of numbers and, 252
unveiling of, 104–5, 127
traveling wave tube (TWT), 198–201, 202, 205–6, 207–8, 210
Truman, Harry, 157, 158, 160, 245
Tukey, John, 129, 151, 246
2001: A Space Odyssey,
197
tyranny of numbers, 252
underwater cables, 37, 81–82
University of California, 159
University of Chicago, 14
Unix, 261, 346
uranium, 51, 59–60, 68
vacuum tubes, 23, 33–36, 37, 52, 57, 67, 80, 82, 93, 97–99, 105, 107–8, 110, 113, 164, 176, 183, 194, 195, 250, 349
traveling wave, 198–201, 202, 205–6, 207–8, 210
Vail, Theodore, 18–20, 24, 27, 30, 45, 272, 275
transcontinental phone service and, 21, 22
Van Vleck, John, 42
venture economy, 347–48
Von Mehren, Robert, 304, 306
Walbridge, Mabel, 168
Walker, Larry, 70
Wall Street Journal,
337
Waters, Ernie, 193
Watson, Thomas A., 23–24
Watson, Thomas J. (Jr.), 305
Watt, James, 289
waveguides, 235–36, 258–62
wavelengths, 235–36, 254–55
Webb, James, 248, 305
Wells, H. G., 201–2
Wen Jiabao, 344
Western Electric, 25–27, 28, 31, 33, 158, 161, 298, 299, 301, 331, 335, 353
Bell Telephone Laboratories,
see
Bell Telephone Laboratories
Depression and, 36
military and, 157–58
White, Addison, 43–44, 56, 79, 102–3
Whyte, William, 184
wicked problems, 4, 355
Wiener, Norbert, 142
Wiesner, Jerome, 248
Wiley, Richard, 302
Willis-Graham Act, 31
Wilson, Leroy, 158, 160
wireless transmission, 27
Woolridge, Dean, 38, 41, 43, 44, 54, 79, 192
World War I, 28, 29, 60
World War II, 58, 59–74, 75, 81, 126, 149, 160, 198, 243, 270
gun firing control in, 123–24, 157
World Wide Web, 334
Young, Rae, 281–82, 286
zone refining, 114
Zuckerman, Harriet, 316
Zwicky, Fritz, 54
THE FIRST IDEA FACTORY:
Western Electric’s former headquarters on West Street in lower Manhattan, which in 1925 became the original home of Bell Labs. Kelly, Shockley, Pierce, Fisk, and Shannon all began their careers at the building; after the war, the men, along with the Labs’ most important research projects, moved to New Jersey.
Courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center
Bettmann/Corbis
BELL LABS’ EARLY ARCHITECTS:
Robert Millikan served as a friend and advisor to Bell Labs’ first president, Frank Jewett, pictured in 1938, as well as a mentor to Mervin Kelly, photographed here soon after his arrival at Western Electric in 1917. After making a name for himself at the University of Chicago, Millikan became president of Caltech.
Courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center
Courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center
AIP Emilio Segre Visual Archives,
Physics Today
Collection
In 1915, Theodore Vail, AT&T’s chairman, listens in on the first transcontinental phone conversation—connecting New York with San Francisco—from his vacation home on Jekyll Island, Georgia.
AIP Emilio Segre Visual Archives
, Physics Today
Collection
Photograph by Parker Studio, Courtesy of AIP Emilio Segre Visual Archives
TWO YOUNG TURKS:
Portraits of a young William Shockley and his friend from MIT, Jim Fisk. “If that man gets hired,” Shockley once said of Fisk, “we’ll all be working for him in ten years.” His prediction proved correct. B
ELOW:
Building 1 on the Murray Hill, New Jersey, campus, just after World War II. Kelly considered the design of the building—where research scientists and development engineers from all disciplines were housed together in close proximity—yet another grand Bell Labs invention.
Courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center
TRIUMPHS OF A MAGIC MONTH:
A crucial page from the December 24, 1947, entry in Walter Brattain’s notebook, the ur-text of the transistor’s genesis; next to it, the first transistor. The germanium metal slab under the arrowhead is about one quarter the size of a penny.
Courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center
The solid-state triumvirate in Brattain’s cluttered Murray Hill laboratory: from left to right, Walter Brattain, William Shockley, and John Bardeen.
Courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center