Norman Krim, Who Championed the Transistor, Dies at 98

NYT ^ | 12-20-11 | DENNIS HEVESI

[bigbob]

Norman Krim, an electronics visionary who played a pivotal role in the industry’s transition from the bulky electron vacuum tube, which once lined the innards of radios and televisions, to the tiny, far more powerful transistor, died on Dec. 14 in a retirement home in Newton, Mass. He was 98. The cause was congestive heart failure, his son Robert said.

Mr. Krim, who made several breakthroughs in a long career with the Raytheon Company and who had an early hand in the growth of the RadioShack chain, did not invent the transistor. (Three scientists did, in 1947, at Bell Laboratories.)

But he saw the device’s potential and persuaded his company to begin manufacturing it on a mass scale, particularly for use in miniaturized hearing aids that he had designed. Like the old tube, a transistor is a semiconductor that amplifies audio signals.

[bigbob]

Mr. Krims is not a household name, and while he wasn't the inventor of the transistor, his story illustrates the fact that most great innovations are a team effort. While he never was ballyhooed as a visionary like Steve Jobs or others, his ability to see the potential of the transistor might have been just as impactive.

As one of those experimenters who carefully soldered those treasured CK-722s into simple electronic circuits as a kid, I thank you Mr. Krim. RIP Sir.

[JRandomFreeper]

My HW-101 had a couple of transistors in the VFO. That was a big honking deal, back in the day, and I was very careful during the installation. But you could set a coffee pot over the 6146 finals and keep the coffee warm. ;)

/johnny

[Lazlo in PA]

I loved Radio Shack back in the day when they actually sold parts and equipment for nerds. RIP.

[Erasmus]

But you could set a coffee pot over the 6146 finals and keep the coffee warm. ;)

But keep the filaments turned off on your 807 brewskis.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[abb]

Along with Lee De Forest’s invention of the “Audion” (aka vacuum tube), the development of the transistor ranks up there with movable type, spectacles, and packet switching as a great invention of humankind.