1971 Intel introduces "computer on a chip" Intel, founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, introduces a "Computer on a chip," the 4004 four-bit microprocessor, design by Frederico Faggin, Ted Hoff, and Stan Mazor. It can execute 60,000 operations per second and changes the face of modern electronics by making it possible to include data processing hundreds of devices. A 4004 provides the computing power for NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft, launched the following year to survey Jupiter. 3M Corporation introduces the ceramic chip carrier, designed to protect integrated circuits when they are attached or removed from circuit boards. The chip is bonded to a gold base inside a cavity in the square ceramic carrier, and the package is then hermetically sealed. 1972 Home video game systems become available In September, Magnavox ships Odyssey 100 home game systems to distributors. The system is test marketed in 25 cities, and 9,000 units are sold in Southern California Alone during the first month at a price of $99.95. In November, Nolan Bushnell forms Atari and ships Pong, a coin-operated video arcade game, designed and built by Al Alcorn. The following year Atari introduces its home version of the game, which soon outstrips Odyssey 100. 1974 Texas Instruments introduces the TMS 1000 Texas Instruments introduces the TMS 1000, destined to become the most widely used computer on a chip. Over the next quarter-century, more than 35 different versions of the chip are produced for use in toys and games, calculators, photcopying machines, appliances, burglar alarms, and jukeboxes. (Although TI engineers Michael Cochran and Gary Boone create the first microcomputer, a four-bit microprocessor, at about the same time Intel does in 1971, TI does not put its chip on the market immediately, using it in a calculator introduced in 1972.)
1980 First circuit boards that have built-in self-testing technology Chuck Stroud, while working at Bell Laboratories, develops and designs 21 different microchips and three different circuit boards—the first to employ built-in self-testing (BIST) technology. BIST results in a significant reduction in the cost, and a significant increase in the quality of producing electronic components. 1980 First circuit boards that have built-in self-testing technology Chuck Stroud, while working at Bell Laboratories, develops and designs 21 different microchips and three different circuit boards—the first to employ built-in self-testing (BIST) technology. BIST results in a significant reduction in the cost, and a significant increase in the quality of producing electronic components. 1997 IBM develops a copper-based chip technology IBM announces that it has developed a copper-based chip technology, using copper wires rather than traditional aluminum to connect transistors in chips. Other chip manufacturers are not far behind, as research into copper wires has been going on for about a decade. Copper, the better conductor, offers faster performance, requires less electricity, and runs at lower temperatures, This breakthrough allows up to 200 million transistors to be placed on a single chip. 1998 Plastic transistors developed A team of Bell Labs researchers—Howard Katz, V. Reddy Raju, Ananth Dodabalapur, Andrew Lovinger, and chemist John Rogers—present their latest findings on the first fully "printed" plastic transistor, which uses a process similar to silk screening. Potential uses for plastic transistors include flexible computer screens and "smart" cards, full of vital statistics and buying power, and virtually indestructible.
Many people doubted that such a thing was possible, but a young inventor named Guglielmo Marconi proceeded to make good on the promise, using cumbersome sparking devices on observation boats to transmit Morse code messages to land stations a few miles away. Many people doubted that such a thing was possible, but a young inventor named Guglielmo Marconi proceeded to make good on the promise, using cumbersome sparking devices on observation boats to transmit Morse code messages to land stations a few miles away. A hundred years later that trickle of dots and dashes had evolved into mighty rivers of information. When another America's Cup competition was held in New Zealand in early 2000, for instance, every detail of the action—the swift maneuvers, straining sails, sunlight winking in spray—was captured by television cameras and then relayed up to a satellite and back down again for distribution to audiences around the world. The imagery rode on the same invisible energy that Marconi had harnessed: radio waves. Any radio or television signal of today, of course, amounts to only a minuscule fraction of the electromagnetic flow now binding the planet together. Day and night, tens of thousands of radio stations broadcast voice and music to homes, cars, and portable receivers, some that weigh mere ounces. Television pours huge volumes of entertainment, news, sports events, children's programming, and other fare into most households in the developed world. (The household penetration of TV in the United States is 98 percent and average daily viewing time totals 7 hours.) Unrivaled in reach and immediacy, these electronic media bear the main burden of keeping the public informed in times of crisis and provide everyday coverage of the local, regional, and national scenes. But mass communication is only part of the story. Police and fire departments, taxi and delivery companies, jetliner pilots and soldiers all communicate on assigned frequencies. Pagers, cell phones, and wireless links for computers fill additional slices of the spectrum, a now precious realm administered by national and international agencies. As a force for smooth functioning and cohesion of society, radio energy has no equal.
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
