1956 Nobel Prize in Physics: Transistor Discovery Explained
This paper examines the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded jointly to William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain for their research on semiconductors and discovery of the transistor effect. Drawing on the laureates' own Nobel lectures, the paper traces the philosophical views each scientist held about the nature of research, recounts the step-by-step experimental breakthroughs of November–December 1947 that produced the first working transistor, and traces the subsequent evolution from point-contact transistors to bipolar junction transistors and integrated circuits. The paper concludes by evaluating the accuracy of the laureates' own predictions about transistor development against what the technology ultimately became.
- Introduction to the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics: Prize awarded to Shockley, Bardeen, and Brattain for transistor
- The Laureates' Views on Research and Discovery: Each laureate's philosophy on scientific research and discovery
- The Invention of the First Transistor: Step-by-step narrative of the 1947 transistor experiments
- From Transistors to Integrated Circuits: Evolution from transistors to integrated circuits explained
- Predictions Made at the Time of the Nobel Prize: Laureates' forecasts about transistor technology at prize ceremony
- Conclusion: Legacy of the transistor and the laureates' impact
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Draws directly on primary sources — the laureates' own Nobel lectures — to support biographical and philosophical claims, giving the analysis an authoritative grounding.
- Balances intellectual history (the scientists' philosophies of research) with narrative history (the month-by-month experimental breakthroughs), keeping the reader engaged on two levels simultaneously.
- Closes with a self-critical observation: even Nobel laureates working with limited knowledge made incorrect predictions, which adds nuance and intellectual honesty to the conclusion.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of direct quotation from primary source documents (Nobel lectures) to support interpretive claims. Rather than simply paraphrasing, the author selects specific phrases from the laureates' speeches — such as Shockley's objection to labels like "pure" or "applied" research — and then explains their significance, modeling how to integrate quotations analytically rather than decoratively.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with context about the prize and its recipients, then pivots to the philosophical views of each laureate drawn from their Nobel lectures. A narrative section reconstructs the experimental events of November–December 1947 in chronological order. This is followed by a broader technological history tracing transistors through to integrated circuits. A penultimate section evaluates the laureates' own predictions, and a brief conclusion reflects on legacy and long-term impact.
Introduction to the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics
Physics is closely related to engineering and the development of new technology, forming the basis for many advances in the modern world. Alfred Nobel recognized it as one of the most important disciplines, and the Nobel Committee established the Nobel Prize in Physics to honor its greatest contributors.
According to the Nobel Committee, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1956 was awarded "for their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect." (The Nobel Prize in Physics 1956) The importance of transistors over the following 50 years is well known, and it can be clearly stated that the present development of communications essentially began with the transistor. The prize was divided equally — one third each — among William Bradford Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Houser Brattain. At the time of the award, William Shockley was working at the Semiconductor Laboratory of Beckman Instruments, while Walter Brattain was working at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Shockley was born in the United Kingdom in 1910, Bardeen was born in 1908, and Brattain was born in 1902. All three have since passed away — Shockley in 1989, Bardeen in 1991, and Brattain in 1987. (The Nobel Prize in Physics 1956)
The Laureates' Views on Research and Discovery
Understanding what the awardees felt about their discovery adds important depth to the history of the prize. Their Nobel lectures offer a valuable window into their thinking. One of the key points made by William Shockley in his Nobel Prize address was that certain important segments of United States industry had come to believe that fundamental research is important from a practical standpoint. He pointed to Bell Laboratories — from which two of the three Nobel laureates came — as a prime example of that belief in action.
A particularly significant argument Shockley made was his objection to classifying physics using labels such as "pure, applied, unrestricted, fundamental, basic, academic, industrial or practical." (Transistor technology evokes new physics) In his view, such descriptions foster the mistaken impression that some types of research are inferior while others are superior. He also argued that the discovery of anything of practical importance should be seen as inherently useful, and that no one should diminish the "long-range value of explorations into new areas where a useful outcome cannot be foreseen." (Transistor technology evokes new physics)
In his own career, Shockley had frequently been asked whether his planned experiments constituted pure or applied research. His position was that, for a research scientist, the more important question is whether a particular piece of research will yield useful and lasting knowledge about nature. If such knowledge is attainable, he argued, that research should be classified as fundamental — regardless of whether the motivation behind it was purely personal curiosity or some other consideration. (Surface properties of semiconductors)
Walter Brattain, as an individual scientist, brought a different motivation to the work: a deep fascination with the nature of surfaces. In his Nobel lecture, he observed that the most interesting and useful phenomena on Earth occur at surfaces. He noted that humans live on the surface of the earth, that catalysis of chemical reactions takes place at the surfaces of materials, and that sunlight is converted into sugar by plants only at their surfaces. Even in electronics, most circuit elements involve non-equilibrium phenomena occurring at their surfaces — a dynamic he compared to biology, which is similarly preoccupied with surface phenomena. This perspective led him to the concept of improving the stability of high-power transistors through the interaction of different surface effects. In his view, both types of contribution were necessary to "confer the greatest benefit on mankind," as Alfred Nobel had intended. (Surface properties of semiconductors)
John Bardeen brought yet another distinguished background to the collaboration. He served as an assistant professor of physics at the University of Minnesota from 1938 to 1941, after which he joined the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in Washington, D.C. as a civilian physicist, remaining there until 1945. During that period he worked on the influence fields of ships as applied to underwater ordnance and minesweeping. He then joined Bell Telephone Laboratories, where he worked alongside Shockley and Brattain until 1951, before accepting an appointment as Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics at the University of Illinois. His primary research interests spanned "electric conduction in semiconductors and metals, surface properties of semiconductors, theories of superconductivity and diffusion of atoms in solids." (John Bardeen – Biography)
The Invention of the First Transistor
The process of invention was extraordinary. On November 17, 1947, Walter Brattain — who had been building a device using silicon to study how electrons behaved on the surface of a semiconductor — became frustrated with condensation interfering with his experiment and submerged the entire device in a thermos of water. Rather than placing it in a vacuum to eliminate condensation, as might have been expected, he chose water, which immediately resolved the problem. When the experiment was conducted with the device wet, it produced the largest amplification that had been achieved up to that point. (The Miracle Month: The Invention of the First Transistor, November 17–December 23, 1947)
Another scientist, Robert Gibney, was present, and neither man could initially explain what had happened. As they continued experimenting, they found that applying a positive voltage increased the amplification further, while applying a negative voltage eliminated it entirely. This suggested that the water had effectively neutralized the disruptive effect of electrons on the surface of the plate — removing the greatest obstacle to building a working transistor. When Bardeen was informed of the results, he recognized it as a promising path toward building an amplifier. He proposed inserting a metal point into the silicon at a location surrounded by water, using the water's effect to neutralize the electron problem as before. The practical difficulty was positioning the contact point so that it touched the metal but not the water — a challenge that Brattain resolved by constructing a suitable model. The resulting amplifier, once completed, produced some degree of amplification, though not a large amount.
Further refinement followed rapidly. On December 8, Bardeen suggested replacing silicon with germanium, which produced amplification of approximately 330 times — but in the opposite direction from what had been expected. Instead of electrons moving through the material, it was the "holes" (the absence of electrons) that were moving. Despite the surprise, the two scientists had succeeded in achieving amplification across all frequencies, with high amplification at some frequencies and lower amplification at others. The essential components were found to be a slab of germanium and two gold points separated by a fraction of a millimeter. Brattain then wrapped gold foil around a plastic triangle and sliced it at one of the points. When the triangle was gently pressed down onto the germanium, a signal entered through one gold contact and emerged amplified through the other. This was the first point-contact transistor — assembled from germanium, plastic, and gold — and it constituted the first working model of a solid-state amplifier. (The Miracle Month: The Invention of the First Transistor, November 17–December 23, 1947) This discovery was the foundation of the Nobel Prize.
Conclusion
After 50 years, it is clear that the transistor changed the world entirely. Intel now produces billions of transistors within its integrated circuits, and the industry that grew from this discovery commands vast economic resources. The inventors themselves — Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley — earned very little money from the fruits of their research. The brilliance of Bardeen is further evidenced by his winning a second Nobel Prize in Physics in 1972, shared with L. N. Cooper and J. R. Schrieffer, for the theory of superconductivity — making him one of the very few scientists to win the Nobel Prize twice in the same field. The one lasting commercial legacy directly attributable to one of the original inventors is that Shockley founded a company that helped give rise to Silicon Valley.
References
Brattain, Walter H. (December 11, 1956). "Surface properties of semiconductors." Nobel Lecture. Retrieved from Accessed September 8, 2005.
"Development of the Integrated Circuit." Retrieved from http://www.geocities.com/cryzick/. Accessed September 7, 2005.
"John Bardeen – Biography." Retrieved from Accessed September 7, 2005.
"John Bardeen: 1908–1991." Retrieved from http://www.physics.uiuc.edu/people/jbardeen.html. Accessed September 8, 2005.
Shockley, William B. (December 11, 1956). "Transistor technology evokes new physics." Nobel Lecture. Retrieved from Accessed September 8, 2005.
"The Miracle Month: The Invention of the First Transistor, November 17–December 23, 1947." Retrieved from Accessed September 7, 2005.
"The Nobel Prize in Physics 1956." Retrieved from Accessed September 7, 2005.
"Transistor: History and Development." Retrieved from Accessed September 8, 2005.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.