The first transistor was successfully
demonstrated on December 23, 1947, at Bell Laboratories in
Murray Hill, New Jersey. This demonstration followed a successful initial test
conducted one week earlier on December 16, 1947.
Key Facts of the Demonstration
- Inventors: The
device was developed by physicists John Bardeen and Walter
Brattain, under the direction of William Shockley.
- Technology: This
first working model was a point-contact transistor made
from a small slab of high-purity germanium with two
closely spaced gold contacts.
- Performance: During
the demonstration, the device operated as a speech amplifier with a power
gain of approximately 18 (or 330 times in some experimental setups).
- Public Announcement: Although
successfully demonstrated to lab management in late 1947, the invention
was not publicly announced until a press conference on June 30,
1948.
