Unknown history until Silicon Valley becomes the world's best IT industry hub

"San Francisco, USA"Silicon Valley"As the world's leading IT companies such as Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, Facebook, HP have bases, the world's largest high-tech industry is developing. It is generally thought that Silicon Valley originated from the gathering of semiconductor manufacturers such as Intel, but it seems that there is origin in an industry unexpectedly unlikely to have its history.

Secret History | Steve Blank
http://steveblank.com/secret-history/

Professor Steve Blank taught at the University of California Berkeley business school presents a presentation on "Silly Valley's unknown history" in the following movies.

Secret History of Silicon Valley - YouTube


According to Blank professor, "When did the history of Silicon Valley begin?" When asking students majoring in Engineering at Stanford University, "Mostly from the Internet,Mark AndreisenIt is surprisingly not known much about the history of Silicon Valley, as the answer such as "It is from PC, it is from Steve Jobs" comes back. Currently, Silicon Valley, the center of the IT industry, said that the prewar defense industry (military industry) originated.


In addition, Professor Blank said that he was not a historian expert at the time of the presentation, that the story during World War II lacked the viewpoint of the Soviet Union in view of Western countries, perhaps that it contained mistakes We are exchanging such things as, but it seems that the contents are all based on published literature.


On December 7, 1941, the United States entered World War II. World War IIElectronic warfareIt was the beginning of.


British and American military aircraft were shot down entirely by the German army on the European front.


It was caused by the high-performance radar network "Kammhuber Line" boasted by the German army.


The German army laid down a defense radar network from northern Germany to occupied France and detected and repulsed British and American military aircraft.


It seems that about 80,000 soldiers were killed or caught in both armies, with 18,000 for the US military and 22,000 for the British army, destroyed and destroyed military aircraft.


This is a German military radar network located throughout France.


The German army used several types of radar differently. This is an early warning radar of 200 miles warning range (about 320 kilometers)Mammut"20 placement is arranged.


This is"Wasserman". The height is 190 feet (about 58 meters), and the warning range is 150 miles with 150 units deployed (about 240 kilometers).


"JagdschlossCovers the range of 360 degrees in all directions and 180 miles in radius (about 290 kilometers).


The German Army further divided localities into meshes of 30 miles × 20 miles (about 48 kilometers × about 32 kilometers) and built a local defense network.


Early warning radar "FreyaAnd ...


Small radar "WurzburgAlso utilize the local defense network to send information on enemy aircraft to the airborne German military aircraft and support attacks.


Of course, they also intercepted from the ground. This is a gun "Flak".


This is a German army night fighter equipped with radar. It demonstrates its power with poor visibility such as nighttime and thick fog.


Scenes of the American military 's World War II movie popular bombs are definitely scenes of sunny sunny days, but Europe' s winter has a sunny day of sight.


The solution was air-to-ground radar for observing the state of the earth from the air. British troops put in mid-1943 and US forces in the latter half of 1943, respectively.


The mission success rate of American military aircraft to the German army is 96% to 80%. With all military aircraft needing to carry out 25 missions, it is obvious that pilots can hardly come back as long as they calculate how much probability they can survive.


In this way, the US military established the secret laboratory Harvard Radio Research Lab (RRL) in Harvard University in the situation that the radar analysis used by the enemy army is indispensable for disturbing or confusing the radar used by the German army It was.


We flew the German dominance area with equipment on the B-24J bomber and intercepted and analyzed the German radar signal.


RRL developed 'Aluminum foil strategy' as a valid strategy against Wurzburg. This is that a bunch of aluminum foil is sprayed from the air from the aircraft crew with bare hands to obstruct the German army radar. It seems that three-quarters of the whole aluminum foil in the US is used for the operation of the aluminum foil spraying.


In addition, radar jamming devices were installed in US military fighters and military aircraft.


In addition, British troops also deploy radar jamming equipment to fighter planes.


At this point the presentation has already passed 30 minutes. However, few clues leading to the current Silicon Valley IT industry have emerged. The transition from military industry to IT industry, members of RRL will become key people.

The secret laboratory RRL was composed of 800 researchers separated from the MIT Radiation Lab. It was Professor Frederic Thurman who was conducting the command. This Professor Taman is the person who is called "father of Silicon Valley". Professor Taman took over as Professor of Stanford University in 1926. Later, to create Hewlett-PackardWilliam HewlettWith Mr.David PackardHe is also known for his role as a supervisor.


Prior to World War II, the research department of the military company was developing weapons, but from the Second World War the laboratory of the university is also beginning to participate in weapons development, and MIT and Harvard University etc are huge I am using research funds, but the budget allocated to Stanford University was small.


After the end of World War II, Professor Taman, who returned to Stanford University, pulled out 11 researchers from RRL and founded Electronics Research Lab (ERL). In preparation for the next war,MicrowaveWe started research and said that by 1950 the research and development capabilities of Stanford University were enhanced to be called "Western MIT".


When the Soviet Union developed an atomic bomb in 1949, the world of war has changed completely. So-calledCold warIt will rush into. In the era of a new war called the Cold War, in 1950Korean WarBroke out. At that time, Stanford University became the first military research partner of the US military government, and the budget sharply increased.


And Stanford University jumped to the center of NSA, CIA, Navy, Air Force research partner.


He said that the Cold War era had been showing an aspect of electronic warfare following the Second World War, such as being forced to watch the Russian Air Force following the former German Army and submarines and nuclear weapons of the Soviet Union.


Since the 1950s, ERL of Stanford University collects radar information with postdoc researchers and staff of 800 peopleELINT), And has won the trust of the CIA, NSA and the Air Force.


Stanford University conducted fundamental research on electronic engineering, the research result was formed in the munitions industry in the area around Stanford University, and the finished product was adopted by the US military. For example, it flew a high altitude region where a Soviet fighter can not fly and scouts the ballistic missile deployment situation of eastern countriesU-2Has deployed 10 to 40 GHz radar developed by Stanford University.


Although it was Stanford University that gained power in the military industry in this way, the policy of Professor Taman became the cornerstone of building the Silicon Valley later. Professor Taman says, "Encourage students to start a business" "Let stanford university professors advise the surrounding companies" "Professor at Stanford University including Professor Man will be an officer of related companies" "Intellectual property rights of the university To transfer students to entrepreneurial students "and" To enlighten when entrepreneurs benefit from an academic career ", and derived the technology of Stanford University to surrounding companies and start-ups.


In the 1950s, thanks to the cold war era and Professor Professor's policy, around the Stanford University, microwave related companies, mainly engaged in military industry, gathered to form "Microwave Valley" which is a big industrial place. That is, the entrepreneurship of engineers rooted in Silicon Valley was cultivated at this time.


Even in the 1960s the development of unique weapons advanced. This project "Melody" projects a balloon disturbing the missile tracking radar on the air current to the Soviet Union.


Lockheed's wearing the flow of U-2A-12Was developed as a CIA reconnaissance plane.


Where the Soviet air defense radar system "Tall King" is deployed was a big concern of the US Air Force, but what was considered to solve this ... ...


"Flower Garden" plan to deploy a radar detector called "dish" in January, etc. The motivation of the microwave volley prosperity in the 1950s and 1960s was not "profit" but "sense of crisis" against the cold war.


After that, venture capital to support venture companies around Stanford University grew, and semiconductor manufacturers such as Intel and high-tech companies such as Hewlett-Packard made by Professor Professor Professor gathered, and from PC to smart phone and tablet terminal etc. Along with the advent, Silicon Valley, one of the major bases of hardware and software business, came into being born, but the entrepreneurial spirit rooted in Silicon Valley is the "entrepreneurial spirit" that ranges from World War II to the East-West Cold War War "seems to have been raised.