Smaller, faster, tougher

Some technological revolutions are flashy, and some are almost invisible. We're quite familiar with the flashy ones; they've given us powerful computers we can hold in the palms of our hands, devices that can pinpoint our locations by way of orbiting satellites, and the ability to bank and shop without leaving our homes. But none of these innovations would have occurred without the technology that delivers power to them. Over the last half century, a more subtle revolution in power electronics has provided us with compact and efficient semiconductor devices that can manipulate, regulate, and convert electricity from one form to another.