Computers – The Episodic Table of Elements

56. Barium: Glow-Getter

March 9, 2020

6:00 am

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Alchemy, Computers, Electricity, Electronics, Humphry Davy, John Fleming, Lee de Forest, Medicine, Nuclear Weapons, Thomas Edison

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When you really want to suck all the air out of a room, barium will help you out.

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32. Germanium: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

February 25, 2019

6:00 am

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Bell Labs, Clemens Winkler, Computers, Dmitri Mendeleev, Electronics, Germany, Jack Kilby, John Bardeen, Texas Instruments, Walter Brattain, William Shockley

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Silicon gets all the press, but germanium was the real trailblazer of the Information Age.

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14. Silicon: Tool Of All Trades

May 28, 2018

6:00 am

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Artificial Intelligence, Astronomy, Atomic Bonding, Biology, Computers, Electronics, Galileo Galilei, Glass, Isaac Newton, Italy, Marine Biology, Prehistory, Rome, Science Fiction, Television

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From prehistoric times right through today, our hand-held tools have been made of silicon.

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