Technology Vision 2023 | When Atoms meet Bits #TechVision During the war, science was having clear and But the “science drives technology” ethos wasn’t the signi昀椀cant impact on military success, through the whole story. High investment in and focus on science creation of new tools and weapons like radar and the during and after World War II certainly accelerated 233 atomic bomb. And near the end of it, a landmark technological development—but technology also report to the U.S. president, called “Science, the began to rapidly accelerate science. Rocket technology Endless Frontier,” made the case that supporting developed for military applications quickly became the scienti昀椀c research would drive technologies critical 昀椀rst human-made objects to reach outer space and would 236 to the national economy—and it led to signi昀椀cant send humanity to the moon less than two decades later. government and corporate investments in science. Combat radar was adapted to focus on weather patterns, sparking the 昀椀eld of meteorology. And the hunt for cheap The period of innovation that followed all but proved alternatives to rubber led to the development of new this theory. Look at Bell Labs and the invention of materials.237 the transistor. The 昀椀rst patent for a proposed 昀椀eld- The relationship between science and technology is a effect transistor was 昀椀led in 1925, but a scienti昀椀c breakthrough was needed to make a transistor that bi-directional feedback loop that can be exercised to 234 actually worked. In 1946, Bell Labs physicists made powerful effect, pushing the bounds of the possible. that breakthrough, advancing critical understanding But recently, with the growth of computing, (digital) of electron mobility in semiconductors. They built the technology took center stage, capturing the fascination 昀椀rst working transistor in 1947, and seven years after of enterprises everywhere. While technology certainly still that, the 昀椀rst transistor computer was made—forever accelerated scienti昀椀c discovery, enterprises were largely changing technology and the world.235 content to leave that in the hands of researchers and speci昀椀c industries. We forgot the lessons from Bell Labs, the space race, and others.