SKU: 13058793224

Crystal Fire: The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age (Revised)

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Crystal Fire: The Invention of the Transistor and the Birth of the Information Age (Revised)On December 16, 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, physicists at Bell Laboratories, jabbed two electrodes into a sliver of germanium. The power flowing from the germanium far exceeded what went in; in that moment the transistor was invented and the Information Age was born. No other devices have been as crucial to modern life as the transistor and the microchip it spawned, but the story of the science and personalities that made these inventions

On December 16, 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, physicists at Bell Laboratories, jabbed two electrodes into a sliver of germanium. The power flowing from the germanium far exceeded what went in; in that moment the transistor was invented and the Information Age was born. No other devices have been as crucial to modern life as the transistor and the microchip it spawned, but the story of the science and personalities that made these inventions possible has not been fully told until now. Crystal Fire fills this gap and carries the story forward. William Shockley, Bell Labs' team leader and co-recipient of the Nobel Prize with Brattain and Bardeen for the discovery, grew obsessed with the transistor and went on to become the father of Silicon Valley. Here is a deeply human story about the process of invention including the competition and economic aspirations involved all part of the greatest technological explosion in history. The intriguing history of the transistor its inventors, physics, and stunning impact on society and the economy unfolds here in a richly told tale." Science News "Thoroughly accessible to lay readers as well as the techno-savvy. . . . A

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 12/17/1998
ISBN: 9780393318517
Pages: 352
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 8.17h x 5.47w x 0.86d

Review Citations: New York Times 01/17/1999 pg. 32
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SKU: 13058793224

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David Hamlin
Natrona Heights, US
★★★★★ 5
Good
Special Size: Midweight, Size: 40W x 30L, Color: Tinted Medium Blue
The length runs long. The waist fits good
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Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2026
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Steve
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 3
Couldn't get the zipper button open!
Special Size: Midweight, Size: 38W x 30L, Color: Dark Midnight Wash
Returned. They are probably a good product but I have arthritis in my thumbs and it was excruciating to try to undo the button above the fly. I seemed like like the button hole was too small. Maybe a gorilla finished final assembly?
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Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2026
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Jordan W.
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 5
Suprisingly great jeans.
Special Size: Midweight, Size: 29W x 32L, Color: Grey Wash
Love the fit and style of these. The waste is abnormally small, I purchased a 29 but also 30 would have been better. The rest of the fit is great, color is great, good mix between stretchy and stiff.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2026
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Amazon Customer
Fort Morgan, US
★★★★★ 5
I like them, would buy again.
Size: 34W x 32L, Color: Tinted Light Wash
Fit nice, dont look nor feel cheap. The fit is nice and true to whats marketed. Material is not hard.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2026
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Pen Name
Whiting, US
★★★★★ 4
Too baggy! (UPDATE): Bought this style of jeans again and they fit great!
Size: 31W x 30L, Color: Tinted Light Wash
These jeans are too baggy for my liking. Edit: I purchased more jeans of this style recently again and for some reason they fit a lot better to my liking than before when I first left the initial review for this. I have updated my review from 3 stars to 4 stars now. I purchased the black, grey, dark wash and tinted medium blue, and all 4 had a good fit on me. My original review stated that it was too baggy but the 4 jeans I just bought had a fitted look which is what i prefer, not too baggy and not to slim/skinny. I want to point out that the fit varies from the color choices. For example, the black, grey and dark wash jeans, i went with a size 32x30 because 31x30 for those colors were too tight/slim on me and for the tinted medium blue, i downsize to 31x30 because 32x30 for this color is too baggy. So buy the size you usually wear and if it's too slim or baggy then send it back and size up or down. Buying jeans on Amazon, i feel that you will have to buy a few different sizes and see which one fits you the best and then go from there. Edit (3/7/26): sizing is very inconsistent. So my previous edit above stated that the jeans I recently purchased fit great on me, and that's true, so I decided to buy another jean, same color and same size, this time the jean fit way too small/tight. I feel like amazon needs to do better quality control on these jeans. How does 2 pairs of the same jeans/color/size have such an inconsistent in size/fitting to it!
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Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2025

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