Transistors are tiny switches that are used as the fundamental building blocks of silicon chips.

BBC: Mistakes in silicon chips to help boost computer power

Gene outlined the fundamental building blocks -- the education, infrastructure, research and development -- that it rests on.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

According to the authors of the paper, the success of this setup means that the fundamental building blocks of large-scale quantum teleportation are now in place.

FORBES: European Researchers Break Chinese Quantum Teleportation Record

Brooks points out the crystallized gypsum disguised as marble columns, the Styrofoam used to fill gaps in the palace's building blocks, and the most fundamental flaw: The foundations of the palace, set in an artificial lake, were designed to withstand a 200, 000 square-foot structure.

WSJ: Turf Battle Forms Over Hussein's Palaces