تاریخ مهندسی و علوم در سیستم بل: علوم فیزیکی (۱۹۲۵-۱۹۸۰) جلد ۴ از ۷

Research was an essential element of Bell System operations even before the creation of Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1925. In founding a separate organization to investigate areas of science and engineering, the Bell System recognized the importance of an environment that fostered a spirit of creative enquiry among many disciplines. Another important ingredient for successful research is a clear sense of mission which, in the case of Bell Laboratories, us to provide the technology necessary to support the communications network. H. D. Arnold, the first Director of Research at Bell Laboratories, in 1925 expressed the company's philosophy in these words: "Research is the effort of the mind to comprehend relationships which no one has previously known, and in its finest exemplifications it is practical as well as theoretical, trending always toward worthwhile relationships, demanding common sense as well as uncommon ability." Out of this spirit of enquiry and this sense of mission have come an impressive array of inventions and discoveries, ranging from the physics of the innermost recesses of the atom to broad principles of mathematics and system design. Recorded here, for a significant period of Bell System history ( 1925-1980) are the principal research discoveries in physics and materials. (A subsequent volume will cover research in communications sciences.) The best-known result of research at Bell Labs was the invention of the transistor in 1947. This event triggered a tremendous growth in solid-state electronics, and the result has been a revolution in telecommunications, computer systems, and such consumer products as television, transistor radios, minicalculators, and digital watches. As important as the transistor is, however, it does not overshadow the many other achievements of Bell Labs research in the physical sciences, including the conception of the laser in 1958, the helium-neon laser, the carbon dioxide laser and the heterostructure semiconductor laser used in lightwave transmission systems. Studies of the characteristics of natural rubber and other polymers, during World War II and later, led to new developments in synthetic materials and fostered the "Age of Plastics." Zone refining brought about the ultrahigh purification of semiconductors and other materials. Silica has been studied in its form as glass almost since the founding of the Bell System, but recent developments in this area have opened the exciting field of fiber optics, with tremendous potentials for the future of communications. Magnetic studies have led to the discovery of such important materials as Permalloy and Permendur Solar cellssimple, reliable, and highly efficient in converting sunlight to electricityare important by-products of research at Bell Labs that today provide the energy source abroad most spacecraft and satellites. In the fifty-five years covered by this volume, scientists at Bell Labs received an extraordinary number of awards and honors. Beginning with the Nobel Prize for the discovery by Davisson and Gerner of the wave nature of the electron in 1927, Bell Labs physics research has led to Nobel Prizes in physics for seven members of the technical staff: in addition to Davisson, to J. Bardeen, W. H. Brattain, and W. Shockley in 1956 for the transistor; to P. W. Anderson in 1977 for his work on disordered states of matter, and to A. A. Penzias and R. W. Wilson in 1978 for their discovery of background radiation in outer space, supporting the "big bang" theory of the origin of the universe. This volume tells the stories behind the more important discoveries and inventions of Bell Labs scientists and engineers, including accounts by some of the people involved in the work. Of special interest is an account of the genesis of the transistor, a supplement to Chapter 2, which includes reminiscences written expressly for this history by W. H. Brattain. Physical Sciences is the fourth volume in the series entitled A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System . It was written by members of the technical staffboth active and retiredof Bell Laboratories. The project was coordinated by Dr. Sidney Millman, formerly executive director, ResearchPhysics and Academic Affairs division, at Bell Labs and later, after his retirement, secretary of the American Institute of Physics. Vol. 3 prepared by A.E. Joel, Jr. and other members of the technical staff, Bell Telephone Laboratories; G.E. Schindler, Jr., editor. Includes bibliographies and indexes. [1] The early years (1875-1925) -- [2] National service in war and peace (1925-1975) -- v. 3. Switching technology (1925-1975) -- [4] Physical sciences (1925-1980) -- [5] Communications sciences (1925-1980) -- [6] Electronics technology (1925-1975) -- [7] Transmission technology (1925-1975). [1] The Early Years (1875-1925) -- [2] National Service In War And Peace (1925-1975) -- V.3. Switching Technology (1925-1975) -- V.4. Physical Sciences (1925-1980) -- V.5. Communications Sciences (1925-1980) Prepared By Members Of The Technical Staff, At&t Bell Laboratories ; S. Millman, Editor. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.