Everything Was Invented Here
For the last century, one place has been responsible for more innovations and ingredients of the modern world than any other.
If Edison’s Menlo Park started turning invention into a science in the 19th century, Bell Labs worked on perfecting the art. Since 1925, AT&T’s crown jewel has given the world the transistor, the cellular phone, the laser, and the computer language UNIX.
They also proved the universe was expanding. No big deal, just normal Tuesday stuff.
Over the course of their existence, teams at Bell Labs have won 9 Nobel Prizes and 4 Turing Awards (like the Nobel Prize in computing).
Imagine the world without fast digital computers. Without the invention of the transistor, computer chips and the miniaturization that led to Moore’s Law wouldn’t have been possible. Your smartphone has billions of these little building blocks inside it.
Speaking of phones, AT&T also invented the cellular phone at Bell Labs. Without their work in radio transmission, signal processing, and network design, mobile phones just wouldn’t be practical.
Your phone can access the web, and everything there is built on the back of a language called UNIX. Yep, Bell Labs.
The laser was invented in stages, by lots of people. The groundwork was laid at Bell Labs by Charles H Townes, who eventually won one of those 9 Nobel Prizes. Today, lasers scan codes, help in surgery, play DVDs, and an awful lot more.
The discovery by Penzias and Wilson that the universe was expanding fundamentally altered our understanding of cosmology, reshaping our place in the cosmos.
Just, wow.
Now, here’s my question: how did they do it?
Back at Menlo Park, Edison standardized the way invention was done. It was no wonder that his home for innovators drew so many folks in once they heard Edison was there.
Why did Bell Labs become the Menlo Park of the 20th century?
First and foremost, Bell Labs fostered an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together physicists, engineers, and other specialists to collaborate. One person could draw from a completely different field when faced with a completely new challenge, and this cross-pollination led to breakthrough after breakthrough.
AT&T’s monopoly actually helped out a lot here. Unlike every other company with a research lab, AT&T didn’t really need to focus on immediate, profitable projects. This meant they could think long-term, focusing on innovations that couldn’t possibly have commercial uses for many years.
Researchers really valued serendipity and the sort of accidental discovery that could often result from messy crossover. They were encouraged to spend time on whatever interested them.
All of this was inside of an incredibly supportive environment, where a company with almost bottomless pockets threw their weight behind innovation and discovery. Every scientist or inventor eager to make a mark on the world wanted to work at Bell Labs.
Now, I know there are some regular readers out there who have worked at Bell Labs. I want to hear from you today! Why was Bell Labs so successful? What ingredients did I miss today?
Which one of Bell Labs’s innovations is the most important?
Hardly anyone realizes UNIX/Linux runs the web and other internet services.
Bell certainly was one of the most exemplary of American research laboratories, with perhaps only General Electric rivalling their achievements.