EARLY
TRANSISTOR HISTORY AT BELL LABS An Interview with Walter MacWilliams Developing the First “Working” Transistor Application |
Walter H. MacWilliams (right) and Robert C. Winans examine the historic Transistor Gating Matrix. [2] |
This photo appeared in the March 1957 issue of
Bell Labs Record, in the article, “A Transistor Gating Matrix for a Simulated
Warfare Computer”, by W.H. MacWilliams, Jr.
Walter is shown to the right, using a pencil to indicate one of the 40
Type A point contact transistors used in the transistor matrix that has been
described in this Oral History. The introductory paragraph to Walter’s
article provides an excellent overview of this historic project: “The
transistor’s two most important capabilities – switching and the
amplification of signals – were put to use almost immediately after its
invention at Bell Laboratories. A circuit using the early point-contact
transistors was incorporated into laboratory equipment designed for the
military. This circuit is believed to
be the first to use transistors to perform a practical function in operating
laboratory equipment, and it made an important contribution in answering the
question – how lethal are anti-aircraft guns in fending off an enemy attack?”
Go
To MacWilliams Oral History, Pg 7 |
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