Alcatel-Lucent 1947, John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, William Shockley of Bell Labs invented the transistor. In 1956, they received a Nobel Prize for their invention. The transistor led to an electronics revolution during the post-war boom. The transition from vacuum tubes to transistors enabled all technologies to be built on a smaller scale and use less electricity. Items that before required large dedicated spaces, could now fit into a home or even on a kitchen counter. In 1954, Gerald Pearson, Darryl Chapin and Calvin Fuller invented the solar cell. Telstar, the first active communications satellite also developed by Bell Labs and launched
Transistor Blast: The Best of the BBC Sessions except where noted. Live in Concert, Hammersmith Palais, 22 December 1980 Transistor Blast: The Best of the BBC Sessions Transistor Blast: The Best of the BBC Sessions is a boxed set by XTC released in 1998, just two months prior to "Apple Venus Volume 1". Tracks on the first two discs are culled from various BBC radio sessions the group performed on over the years, notably for John Peel and David Jensen. Discs three and four are live recordings, the latter of which was previously released as "BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert". "Opening Speech" from the first disc is