We All Rely on Them, But How Does a Microchip Work?

 Technology  

Microchips have undoubtedly revolutionized the world. Find out more about these technological powerhouses that have enabled exponential growth of nearly every aspect of our economy and culture.

Microchips are in almost every piece of technology. They're an essential component that provides for the miniaturization, energy efficiency and raw computational power of devices. The microchip is the single thing that has allowed Moore's Law to remain true.

That means these tiny things are invaluable for most people around the world, but most people fail to realize just how amazing microchips are. Let's examine what they are, how they work and some of the unique opportunities they create.

What is a Microchip?

A microchip is an electrical component that utilizes layers of semi-conducting materials to create logic circuits. These circuits are special in that they are extremely small, incredibly efficient and allow for trillions of operations to be conducted per second in just one part of a larger device.

The most interesting part about the microchip is that there are a wide variety of microchips that exist. Some act as controllers for temperature probes, others work to test the conductivity of a semifluid material and others simply perform countless calculations.

The best way to think of a microchip is as if it was a much larger circuit shrunk into a very small size.

How Does a Microchip Work?

The most basic building blocks of any microchip is the ability to use transistors. These variable resisting circuits can be networked together to work to perform almost any electrical operation, which in turn allows for digital devices to work.

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Each of these transistor circuits will output a variable voltage depending upon how much voltage is supplied, the thickness of the semi-conductive layer within the transistor and the maximum output for the transistor.

When you put trillions of these tiny transistors in a network together, companies like Semi Source create a microchip that can perform countless calculations on something smaller than a dime.

Further Astounding Effects

The uses of the microchip extend past simply making electronics more efficient and compact. They make every process, from resource gathering to refining, manufacturing and distribution exponentially more efficient than they would be otherwise.

They can even make things that would otherwise be unthinkable possible. The best example of this pertains to space flight, where there are countless microchips in one vehicle. Each one serves a purpose to add redundancy or to provide real-time calculations of sensitive flight trajectories and other processing-intensive operations that would be too difficult for a pilot to do in his or her head.

The Importance of the Microchip

Microchips have revolutionized the world. They act similarly to the way that steam revolutionized industry or combustible engines changed transportation forever.

By understanding how microchips work, you likely now have a firm grasp of just how important these tiny components are.

By Anica Oaks

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Author Bio - A recent college graduate from University of San Francisco, Anica loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. She was raised in a big family, so she's used to putting things to a vote. Also, cartwheels are her specialty. You can connect with Anica here.