Gallery 4

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One of the greatest challenges to World War II radar systems was the interference of weather on radio short waves used to locate targets. Bell physicist Charles Townes discovered that microwaves were not affected by the atmosphere.  In 1954 he built a machine called a maser (acronym for “microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”) that could produce a beam of energy.

Later Townes, working with Arthur Schawlow, improved upon the maser to replace microwaves with infrared or optical light, a variety of even shorter wavelengths. Their 1958 paper outlined plans for the new device, which became known as the laser (the name stemmed from the same acronym). By the mid-1970s applications for lasers included eye surgery, fingerprint detection, and treating and detecting cancers. Townes and Schawlow were both awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.  

Laser innovation continued as Bell Laboratories scientists recognized the potential for new functions. Clyde Bethea, who started at Murray Hill in 1970, worked with infrared lasers. He patented the first electronically tunable infrared laser, and went on to acquire over 30 US and over 100 international patents. These patents were not simply limited to laser physics but encompassed the broader areas of quantum device physics and optical communication systems. Others saw the possibilities of using lasers to transmit information.

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The possibility of solar power was introduced to Bell Laboratories in the 1930s, when engineer Russell Ohl found that silicon was photosensitive, meaning that the material generated energy when exposed to sunlight. The creation of the transistor in 1947 laid the path for solar energy as a commercially viable power source because the small semiconductors did not require large amounts of energy. 

In the mid-1950s research on solar power accelerated as scientists were working on solutions for powering remote telephones. In 1954, Cal Fuller, Daryl Chapin, and Gerald Pearson created and demonstrated the first truly effective solar cell at Murray Hill. While it was ultimately determined that cheaper means of power could be found for telephones, scientists were soon looking to incorporate solar energy for the most remote outpost of all: outer space.

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Claude Shannon (1916–2001) studied electrical engineering and mathematics at the University of Michigan and then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where professors quickly recognized his unique mind. In 1940 Shannon accepted a fellowship at the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton but soon left for the National Defense Research Committee before moving onto Bell Labs where he worked on anti-aircraft, fire control and cryptography. 

After the war Shannon moved to newly opened Murray Hill labs where, in the famously collaborative hallways, the introverted Shannon often kept his office door closed. Although he mostly kept to himself, he could be seen riding his unicycle in the hallways and parking lots. 

In 1948, with a paper called “A Mathematical Theory of Communication,” Shannon introduced the idea that information was a “measurable element,” and defined the basic unit – a 1 or a 0 – which would become known as a “bit” (from “binary digit”).   He had invented Information Theory (mathematics based around how to store and transfer data), laying the groundwork for the digital age. The ramifications of his theory touch every aspect of modern communication – from the cell phone to the internet to deep space communications.

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Consistently called the most important invention to come out of Bell Laboratories, the transistor made the world we know possible. Technology was limited by its heavy reliance on bulky vacuum tubes which used a great deal of energy, gave off heat, and burnt out.  It was believed that amplifiers with semiconductors, like germanium or silicon, would be the key because they can both conduct and resist the flow of electricity depending on conditions. 

Wartime work on radar further confirmed the possibilities of silicon. The race was on, as labs around the country began to focus on semiconductors. Not wanting to lose out on a patent, the labs  put their best young physicist on the job: William Shockley, who in turn put together a team including Walter Braittain, an experimental physicist, and John Bardeen, who was knowledgeable about semiconductors. With bureaucracy-free access to metallurgists, chemists, and engineers, the transistor project would come to epitomize what the Murray Hill Bell Labs culture could achieve. 

Largely, Shockley left Brattain and Bardeen alone to work out the problem. Months of experimentation led to a breakthrough with a germanium semiconductor, on December 23, 1947. When Bell Labs announced the transistor the following June, the tiny amplifier did not make a major splash. Few beyond Shockley could truly imagine how the transistor would revolutionize technology and world culture.

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Shockley’s reputation as a jealous manager became widespread around Murray Hill.  When it became clear he would not be chosen for promotion, Shockley left to start his own company, Shockley Semiconductors, in his hometown of Palo Alto, CA. His temper followed him into his new venture and disheartened his staff, two of which left and started their own company: Intel. This kicked off the boom of Silicon Valley, named for the chief material used in the transistor. 

Bill Shockley’s difficult personality was not the only thing to leave a scar on his reputation. In his later life, he became a self-proclaimed expert on race and a supporter of eugenics. The Pioneer Fund, a nativist White-supremicist group, took interest in Shockley’s work and funded his pseudo-research on genetics.

Click here to move to the next room in this exhibition, Gallery 5.