Dec 16, 2022

Happy birthday to the transistor

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Congress is trying to get TikTok banned in the U.S. over cybersecurity concerns. The final part of our series on the transistor chronicles how two men – one from Egypt, the other from Korea – became key figures in its development.

Segments From this episode

The Transistor at 75

The transistor's story is one of innovation and immigration

by David Brancaccio and Alex Schroeder

Dec 16, 2022

Mohamed Atalla of Egypt and Dawon Kahng of Korea are responsible for the technology that helped harness the transistor's power.

The technology developed by two immigrants at Bell Labs in 1959 allowed transistors to become small enough so that more could fit on a microprocessor.

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The team

David Brancaccio Host

Meredith Garretson Morbey Senior Producer

Alex Schroeder Producer

Erika Soderstrom Producer

Redmond Carolipio Digital Producer

Ariana Rosas Producer

Jarrett Dang Digital Producer (gone fishing)

Jesson Duller Media Producer

Brian Allison Technical Director

Nick Esposito Media Producer

Katie Barnfield Producer, BBC

James Graham Producer, BBC

Jo Critcher Producer, BBC

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