Tribute to a homemade chip: the world's most popular integrated circuit turns 50

The most powerful chip in the history of electronics was created by a man working in a storefront. His name was Hans Camenzind, the chip was the 555 timer, and this year marks his 50th anniversary. It outlasted all of its competitors, is still made in the same design and has sold billions worldwide.

The 555 has endured because it's incredibly versatile and reliable. It can time an interval ranging from a millisecond to an hour - or can generate a stream of pulses at a frequency above 1 MHz. It can create audio tones and can even work as a logic gate. I consider it so important, despite its age, that I devoted two chapters and several experiments to it in my book Make: Electronics.

A through-hole 555 chip measures approximately 0.4″×0.3″. Surface mount versions have identical pin functions. [Figure A]

Inside the Apple II, the cursor blink rate was controlled by a 555. It set the delay for intermittent car wipers and was used in spacecraft. In fact, the SE555-SP variant, still available from Texas Instruments, is designed for space. The current version of Figure A

currently sells for 50 cents each, while on AliExpress the generic 555 is 10 for $1.