WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29: TRANSISTOR AT 65

Profile America — Saturday, December 29th.  One of the most important inventions of modern times was announced 65 years ago this week — when three Bell Laboratory scientists unveiled with what would become the junction transistor, the foundation of the information age.  The three shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1956.  The transistor replaced bulky, fragile vacuum tubes, which generated a lot of heat as they amplified a signal.  The first application that caught the public's attention was the transistor radio.  Now, transistors are found in every electronic device that we all take for granted.  Today, there are nearly 51,000 stores selling electronic devices in the U.S., with sales worth $109 billion annually.  Profile America is in its 16th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:  Chase's Calendar of Events 2012, p. 599
2007 Economic Census, NAICS 4431

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau