The digital saga : from the calculating machine to the invention of the transistor

We'll trace the major scientific and technological advances that have led to today's computers. In this first part, we'll focus on the first steps that led to the development of the concept of the computer. The invention of the transistor was a disruptive factor in the spectacular development of modern computers. Particular emphasis will be placed on the link between fundamental research in solid-state physics and technological invention, to show that the final innovations that result from this research must meet needs as they emerge.

Indicative bibliography

Jon Gertner, The ideas Factory: Bell Labs and the Great age of American Innovation, 2012, The Penguin Press, New York.

J. Surkin, Broken Genius: The Rise and Fall of William Shockley, Creator of the Electronic Age, 2008, Macmillan Science.

Michale S. Malone, The Intel Trinity: How Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove Built the World's Most Important Company, 2014, Copyright Materials.

Walter Isaacson, The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, Hardcover, October 7, 2014.

Walter Isaacson, Steve Jobs, Hardcover, October 24, 2011.

Michael Riordan and Lillian Hoddeson, Crystal Fire, 1997 W. W. Norton.

Akio Morita, Edwin M. Reingold and Mitsuko Shimomura, Made in Japan, 1986 by Dutton Books.