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First integrated circuit

First integrated circuit

Jack Kilby is demonstrating his prototype of the first integrated circuit to a group of skeptical engineers and executives at Texas Instruments, attempting to prove that his revolutionary design can r

Setting

Texas Instruments laboratory, Dallas, United States. A mid-century modern research lab with clean lines, functional furniture, and large windows allowing natural light. The room is filled with workbenches cluttered with electronic components, oscilloscopes, and soldering irons.

Characters

The figures in this scene as an entity network — co-presence links everyone in the moment; speakers who trade lines are bound tighter. Turn the resolution dial to reveal depth the engine actually computed.

TNGF
SELECTED
Jack Kilby
primary
A lean, bespectacled man in his mid-30s with short, neatly combed brown hair and a focused gaze. His hands are steady, showing the precision of an engineer, and his posture is slightly hunched from hours spent over workbenches.
Senior Engineer
secondary
A middle-aged man with a receding hairline and sharp, scrutinizing eyes. His wiry frame is slightly hunched from years of leaning over workbenches, and his hands bear faint burn marks from soldering irons.
Executive
secondary
A middle-aged man in his late 40s, with a well-groomed appearance, slightly receding hairline, and a sharp, calculating gaze. He has a lean but sturdy build, indicative of someone who balances desk work with occasional golf outings. His posture exudes authority, and his hands are clean and manicured, a sign of his executive status.
Lab Technician
background
A young man in his early 20s, slim build with short, neatly combed brown hair. His face is clean-shaven, and he wears round, wire-framed glasses that slightly magnify his attentive eyes. His hands are slightly stained with solder and machine oil, evidence of his recent work.

Dialog

Jack Kilby You see, gentlemen, this little piece of germanium here—it’s like a whole team of ballplayers in one uniform. Does the work of a dozen discrete components without all the wiring.
Senior Engineer And you’re saying this... thing... can reliably function in an actual circuit? Without overheating or signal degradation? That’s what I’m hearing.
Executive If this works as advertised, it could cut production costs by half. But I need to see it perform under load.
Jack Kilby Watch the oscilloscope—when I complete this circuit, you’ll see a clean square wave. No interference, no drift.
Senior Engineer Hmph. And when it fails in six months because the materials degrade? What then?
Executive Let’s focus on today’s demonstration. If it holds up, we’ll talk longevity.
Jack Kilby There—see that? Stable as a rock. Now imagine that in every radio, every computer...

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Causal neighbors · 453 linked moments

I
Invention of the Integrated Circuit
1958 · contemporaneous
I
Invention of the Integrated Circuit
1958 · contemporaneous
F
First Integrated Circuit Demonstration
1958 · contemporaneous
F
First demonstration of a working integrated circuit by Jack Kilby
1958 · contemporaneous
First Integrated Circuit Demonstration
First Integrated Circuit Demonstration
1958 · contemporaneous
First integrated circuit demonstration by Jack Kilby
First integrated circuit demonstration by Jack Kilby
1958 · contemporaneous
I
Invention of the Integrated Circuit
1958 · contemporaneous
I
Invention of the Integrated Circuit
1958 · contemporaneous
F
First Integrated Circuit Demonstration
1958 · contemporaneous
F
First demonstration of a working integrated circuit by Jack Kilby
1958 · contemporaneous
First Integrated Circuit Demonstration
First Integrated Circuit Demonstration
1958 · contemporaneous
First integrated circuit demonstration by Jack Kilby
First integrated circuit demonstration by Jack Kilby
1958 · contemporaneous
Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence
Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence
1956 · same era
Apollo 1 Fire
Apollo 1 Fire
1967 · same era
A
Apollo 7 Launch
1968 · same era
F
First Silicon Transistor Demonstration
1954 · same era
C
Completion of TRADIC, the First Transistor Computer
1954 · same era
I
Invention of the planar process by Jean Hoerni
1959 · same era
P
Publication of Moore's Law by Gordon Moore
1965 · same era
A
Apollo 1 Fire
1967 · same era
P
Proposal for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence
1955 · same era
I
Invention of the Perceptron
1957 · same era
M
Mac Hack VI defeats a human player in tournament play
1967 · same era
P
Publication of Claude Shannon's 'A Mathematical Theory of Communication'
1948 · same era
F
Founding of Intel
1968 · same era
A
Apollo 1 Cabin Fire
1967 · same era
A
Apollo 1 Fire
1967 · same era
A
Apollo 1 Fire
1967 · same era
A
Apollo 6 Launch
1968 · same era
F
Friendship 7 Launch
1962 · same era
M
Mother of All Demos
1968 · same era
A
Apollo 1 Fire
1967 · same era
A
Apollo 1 Fire
1967 · same era
A
Apollo 1 Fire
1967 · same era
D
Dartmouth Conference on Artificial Intelligence
1956 · same era
W
Watts Riots
1965 · same era