The transistor is the unsung hero of modern life — powering everything from smartphones to satellites. But how did it begin?

Bell Laboratories, one of the world’s largest industrial laboratories and now part of Lucent Technologies, was originally the research and development arm of the giant telephone company American ...

As with many inventions, two people had the idea for an integrated circuit at almost the same time. Transistors had become commonplace in everything from radios to phones to computers, and now ...