Historical fact check — year of the first transistor invention (Bell Labs point-contact transistor) Evaluate the statement: “The first transistor was invented in 1938.” Choose whether this claim is correct based on accepted semiconductor history.

Introduction / Context:
The invention of the transistor marks the beginning of modern electronics. Accurate historical dates are important in educational content, timelines, and context for how device physics evolved from vacuum tubes to solid-state electronics.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The famous point-contact transistor was demonstrated at Bell Labs by Bardeen and Brattain, with Shockley’s junction transistor theory shortly after.
• We seek the generally accepted year of the first working transistor.

Concept / Approach:
Widely cited sources record the first successful transistor demonstration as occurring in December 1947. The transistor effect had been theoretically explored earlier (dating back to Lilienfeld’s and Heil’s patents on field-effect concepts in the 1920s–1930s), but a practical working transistor was first realized in 1947, not 1938.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Timelines from textbooks and reputable museums (e.g., Computer History Museum) consistently place the transistor’s invention in 1947, with early FET patents predating but not producing practical devices.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

Common Pitfalls:
Equating patent filings with first working devices; assuming WWII research secrecy makes 1938 plausible for the first transistor. The accepted milestone remains 1947.

Final Answer:
Incorrect