AT&T Archives: Bubble Generation, a film about bubble memory from 1979

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In 1979, it looked like computer magnetic bubble memory might be the wave of the future. It was stable, and extremely durable--able to withstand extremes in temperature with ease. It didn't require moving parts like magnetic tape memory did, and it held more information than the previous types of miniature wire grids that typified computer memory systems in the 1960s. But development of the technology was slow, and ultimately wasn't scalable or cheap enough to produce in order to later compete with other kinds of random access memory. Once RAM and ROM improved, and flash memory was invented, magnetic bubble memory's practical applications were severely reduced.
Before it faded from view, bubble memory spawned a mini-industry and even a videogame setup where the game cartridges used bubble memory: Konami's "Bubble System", introduced in 1984.
This promotional film represents a tangent in computer memory technologies and not part of memory's popular history.
But Andrew Bobeck, the inventor of bubble memory, and the central figure in this film, still contributed massively to the technical history of Bell Labs. When he retired from the Labs in 1989, he held 120 patents--more than anyone else active at AT&T at the time.
Footage Courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center, Warren, NJ

[@GrandsonofKong]

I worked at National Semiconductor and our department had to move to accommodate Bubble Memory Design...lasted about a year or so before it was wrapped up. Semiconductor RAM costs dropped much faster "per bit" than anyone would have thought back when this film was produced and killed this product pretty quick.

[@CorvinFaust]

My father worked at Murray Hill growing the gadolinium garnet stuff for these. He still has some modules in a drawer somewhere.

[@thrillscience]

This is going to revolutionize computing!

[@Chamchamcham10]

No, it won't. I'm from the future and this technology rest in piece in technology museum

[@NathansHVAC]

@@Chamchamcham10 yes it will revolutionize the future. It was invented in the government lab

[@pakistaniraveasylum1396]

this has other advanced uses

[@ChristopherUSSmith]

5:29 "We have a very long term, serious and deep commitment to put magnetic bubbles into high-level production." If only they had done so, the costs would have come down significantly.

[@Watcher3223]

And what was one of the things that wound up being a practical implementation of bubble memory?
The Konami Bubble System on arcade games like Gradius.
Great job, guys!
_"WARMING UP NOW"_

[@jesuszamora6949]

Get-ting read-dy.

[@evil-wombat]

I just built a modern version :D
Konami used bubble modules from Fujitsu I think, but my design uses a TI module. Not quite enough space for Gradius, but it proves the point.
ua-cam.com/video/vP2biZnxT7Y/v-deo.html

[@DirkIronside]

One of the reasons why bubble memory didn't take off was the advantages of semiconductors at the time. It's still cool, and may be good for something.

[@ErikS-]

4:02 - Good example of what a business school would call "stuck in the middle".
Such ideas just have a difficult time competing...

[@spensert4933]

2:35 love the reaction shot

[@eggbertsmith]

It's comin back, fools! Invest in Bubble Memory!

[@benjaminhanke79]

Hodl!

[@XanthinZarda]

Gosh, and within a year or two, this technology was _completely_ obsolete.

[@NatureAndTech]

1:32 Andy Ballbag! Really?

[@the_eminent_Joshua_E_Hrouda]

🤣

[@guessagain9885]

@@the_eminent_Joshua_E_Hrouda Andrew Bobeck is his name. He invented the bubble memory system. A little respect goes a long way so maybe Mr. NatureAndTech can educate himself on some tech before sounding like a fool?

[@SFKelvin]

I fear the Bubble has metastasized.

[@FennecTECH]

Wow cost per bit.

[@spensert4933]

Who's the lucky gal who got to pop the bubbles if they were defective.

[@cousinmerl]

ha! name says itself, a simple magnet destroys this stuff.

[@miles2378]

Was this a fad or do devices still use this?

[@jesuszamora6949]

This was a fad. Didn't last long at all.

[@evil-wombat]

Some industrial robotics controllers still use them, but that's mainly because they are expensive to replace. These haven't been used in commercial designs since the 80s; today you'll find a hobby project here and there, but only as a curiosity. There exist some surviving arcade cabinets from the 80s that use them.

[@Pontiki1977]

this technology looks outdated

[@miles2378]

Greek and English ASMR I was meer months old when this was filmed of course it's out dated.