In 1947 the transistor was first demonstrated at bell labs in the United States.
Solid state physics is one of many branches of physics that changed the world forever. It is the study which includes semiconducting material which is, as it sounds, the study of material that is on the cusp of being conductive of electricity and an insulator of electricity. Insulators prevent the flow of electron current because the electrons in the atoms of the material are bound closely to the nucleus. The reason that certain materials allow current to flow (and are therefore conductive) is because they have electrons in their atoms that are so far away from the nucleus (in a high energy state) that they blend with the electrons of neighbouring identical atoms. These electrons in the outer shell are only bound loosely to the nucleus and can therefore wander through the material atom to atom carrying their electron charge. Semiconductors are materials that have their electrons on the edge of this threshold (known as the valence or conductive band) and they can be manipulated into having some of their electrons moved into the next shell (higher energy state) allowing them to be conductive. When the electrons are moved into the next shell they leave a ‘hole’ (similar to Dirac’s prediction of antimatter) in the shell they just left. Artificial semi-conductive materials are made (originally out of crystals of Germanium) some with more free electrons (known as p-type semiconductors) and others with more of the ‘holes’ (known as n-type semiconductors). By placing these different artificial materials together you can control if it is conductive of electricity or not. Combining two of slices of n and p together gives you a diode which only allows current to flow in one direction. Leaving a gap between the two semiconductors so that the electrons from p-type (more free electrons) jump to n-type (more ’holes’).As they jump they spark and this produces the light seen in Light Emitting Diodes or LED’s. Making a sandwich with three of the semiconductors (either n-p-n or p-n-p) makes a transistor which if one part receives and electric current through the middle section it allows a stronger current to pass through the outer sections of the sandwich. The transistor removed the need for old valves which were comparatively very larger and the with the printed circuit board it was possible to shrink electronics greatly. Now silicon is used as a semi-conductive material and these can be made very cheaply and placed in thin layers which allow entire circuits of transistors and diodes to be made in tiny chips. It is thanks to this technology and the study of steady state physics that has allowed computers to become so small, cheap and powerful, dominating all modern technology.
In 1688 deposed King James II of England, Scotland and Ireland fled captivity to France.
On the 6th of February 1685 Charles II died and his younger brother James II became the new King of the United Kingdoms. In 1669 James converted to Catholicism and, like his grandfather, when he became king he attempted to bring more religious tolerance opposing many anti-catholic laws. James II had two daughters, both of which were protestant, and this gave Protestants hope that one day Protestants would return to the throne. On the 10th of June 1688 James’ second wife Mary of Macedonia gave birth to their son James Francis Edward Stuart. The birth of his first son brought fear to many influential Protestants in the Kingdoms who now saw a Catholic line of succession assured. They planned to overthrow the King through Protestant William of Orange (whose wife was King James II eldest daughter).
On the 9th of December 1688 William of Orange defeated James II at the Battle of Reading and soon after he and his wife Mary became joint monarchs of England, Ireland and Scotland in what became known as “the Glorious Revolution”. He was deeply opposed to French King Louise XIV who had tried to invade his homeland of the Dutch Republic. James was placed in custody in the Netherlands but escaped shortly after on the 23rd of December 1688 and he fled to France. He was welcomed by his cousin Louise XIV. The following year James sailed to Ireland to build an army and on the 1st of July 1690 his army was defeated by William III at the battle of the Boyne. James returned to France and died on the 16th of September 1701. His son, James Francis Stuart, was immediately proclaimed James III (VIII in Scotland) of the Kingdoms by the French King Louise XVI and his supporters who later became known as “Jacobites”. In 1715 James led a Jacobite uprising in Scotland which failed. In 1745 his son, Charles Edward Stuart (known as the Young Pretender), led another Jacobite rising which ended in his defeat on the 16th of April 1746 at the Battle of Culloden.
