chemistry

Sheldon Roberts

Sheldon Roberts is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sheldon Roberts rather than just read about it. In short: C. Sheldon Roberts (October 27, 1926 – June 6, 2014) was an American semiconductor pioneer, and member of the "traitorous eight" who founded Silicon Valley.

Key takeaways

Sheldon Roberts belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sheldon Roberts to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sheldon Roberts from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

C. Sheldon Roberts (October 27, 1926 – June 6, 2014) was an American semiconductor pioneer, and member of the "traitorous eight" who founded Silicon Valley.

Biography Roberts earned a Bachelor's degree in metallurgical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1948, and a Master's degree in 1949 and Ph.D. in 1952, from MIT. Roberts then worked in research at the Naval Research Lab and the Dow Chemical Company. He joined the seminal Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory division of Beckman Instruments in Mountain View, California, but left the company along with other members of the traitorous eight with the backing of Sherman Fairchild to form the influential Fairchild Semiconductor corporation. Roberts later founded Amelco (known now as Teledyne) with traitorous eight alumni Jean Hoerni and Jay Last.

References

External links

The Fairchild Chronicles Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine Profile at Rensselaer Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame profile

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sheldon Roberts

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sheldon Roberts claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sheldon Roberts before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sheldon Roberts ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sheldon Roberts

In research: Sheldon Roberts appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sheldon Roberts in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sheldon Roberts is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1926 births, 2014 deaths, American metallurgists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sheldon Roberts outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sheldon Roberts in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sheldon Roberts means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sheldon Roberts out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sheldon Roberts in simple terms?

C. Sheldon Roberts (October 27, 1926 – June 6, 2014) was an American semiconductor pioneer, and member of the "traitorous eight" who founded Silicon Valley.

Why does Sheldon Roberts matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sheldon Roberts?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sheldon Roberts.