JOHN AMBROSE FLEMING (1849-1945)

1890 – England

Fleming’s right-hand and left-hand rules are used for the relationship between the directions of current flow, motion and magnetic field in electric motors and dynamos respectively

The rules are named after the inventor of the thermionic valve who devised them.

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WILLIAM SHOCKLEY (1910- 89)

1947 – USA

The First Transistor

WILLIAM SHOCKLEY

Shockley was a member of the team at Bell Laboratories investigating the properties of electricity conducting crystals, focusing in particular on germanium.
This research led to the development of the junction transistor, virtually invalidating the vacuüm tube overnight.

The First Transistor
Photo: Bell Labs

The transistor was developed in 1947 as a replacement for bulky vacuum tubes and mechanical relays. The invention revolutionized the world of electronics and became the basic building block upon which all modern computer technology rests.
In 1956, Bell Labs scientists William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for the transistor.

Shockley also founded Shockley Semiconductor in Mountain View, California — one of the first high-tech companies in what would later become known as Silicon Valley.

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COMPUTERS

Related articles

• AT&T (aps.org)