Nobel laureate Jack Kilby, whose invention of the integrated circuit ushered in the electronics age and made possible the microprocessor, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 81.Kilby died Monday, according to Texas Instruments Inc., where he worked for many years.
Before the integrated circuit, electronic devices relied on bulky and fragile circuitry, including glass vacuum tubes. In the late 1950s, there was considerable interest — especially in the military — in making devices smaller.
Kilby’s fingernail-size integrated circuit, a forerunner of the microchip used in today’s computers, replaced the bulky and unreliable switches and tubes.
Just think of the impact that the integrated circuit has had on our daily lives. I was awakened this morning by an electronic clock radio, shaved with an chip-equipped electric razor, had a cup of coffee from a microprocessor-controlled coffee pot, set my electronic thermostat, got in my chip-laden car, and drove to work, where I used a fax machine, computer, PDA and cell phone, all made possible and cost-effective because of integrated circuits.
In case you’re not yet convinced of Kilby’s enormous contribution to society, just think where you’d have to get your news if it wasn’t for the integrated circuit.
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I greatly admire our inventors. While reading about the death of Jack Kilby, and reading the list of items and technology that we have born from these discoveries, comments were made indicating the impact of the integrated circuit to our lives which implied, where would we be without these things? This would be the same as saying, where would we be without the work of Thomas Edison? Still in the dark at night, right?
Of course not. The light bulb would have been discovered by someone else and certainly in the same era. It was an outgrowth of the emerging technology of electricity. Same with the IC. Shrinking transistors was a necessity that would have come about anyway. I’m proud of these discoveries and glad that those involved get the credit. To suggest that these things would have gone undiscovered without them is impossible. These inventors were first, someone else would have been second, and third…etc.
So, thanks to Jack Kilby, Bell, Edison, Westinghouse, Hartley, etc., for all your work…
Jack Kilby aptly fits the qualities of “A gentleman and scholar”. Everything I have heard and read about him indicates he handled his fame and importance with dignity. It is so unfortunate that so few of today’s youth don’t even know of Jack Kilby even though they and all future generations will be affected by his genius. If only the sports and entertaiment figures, that form the basis of so many of today’s “heroes”, could even begin to match the personal qualities and social impact that Jack Kilby had. My personal thanks and admiration to a truly great man.