The transistor is one of the 20th century’s most important inventions. It revolutionized technology and launched the Information Age. Its creation is a dramatic story of top secret research, serendipitous accidents, collaborative genius and clashing egos. Transistorized!, the one hour documentary (originally aired on PBS), tells the compelling story of the history of the transistor and the scientists who discovered it. They include William Shockley, who assembled the team at Bell Labs that built the first working transistors, but whose driving ego ultimately ended their collaboration; John Bardeen, a theoretical genius whose profound insights paved the way to the final discovery; and Walter Brattain, whose persistent tinkering led to the breakthrough that resulted in the first transistor.

Host Ira Flatow leads us through a vivid and entertaining tour of the key moments in the history of the transistor — from the scientific breakthroughs early in the 20th century that set the stage for the invention, through the frustrations and serendipitous accidents that made the first transistor work, to the evolution of the first transistorized products and the birth of Silicon Valley. All inextricably interwoven with the tale of the brilliant collaboration and dramatic demise of the team that made the transistor possible.

Biography:

Bio

Ira Flatow (/ˈfleɪtoʊ/; born March 9, 1949) is a radio and television journalist and author who hosts Public Radio International's popular program Science Friday.^[3] On TV, he hosted the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Newton's Apple, a television science program for children and their families.^[4] Later he hosted another PBS series, Big Ideas.^[5] He has published several books, the most recent titled Present at the Future: From Evolution to Nanotechnology, Candid and Controversial Conversations on Science and Nature.^[4]

Address:United States