Research

When Robert  Noyce invented the integrated circuit, even he could never have imagined how it would transform the lives of everyone on the planet. Before the Integrated Circuit was invented, cell phones, PCs, space travel, and satellites didn’t exist. The integrated circuit, better known as the semiconductor chip, has unleashed change comparable to the Industrial Revolution by making the computer revolution and the digital age possible. Today there are far more chips on earth than people. All around us, millions of them are tirelessly at work – in computers, phones, television sets, printers, copiers, CD players, PlayStations, cars, trains, airplanes, in almost all electronics. Without them, there would be no iPod, no Blackberry. There would be no laptop computer or International Space Station or the Hubble Space Telescope. There would be no Apple, Intel, Samsung, Nokia, Microsoft or Google; no Silicon Valley; no multibillion-dollar semiconductor industry. There would be no Internet.
Question: In what ways has the invention of the silicon chip changed society?
Your job is:

Research electronic and print media about the invention and history of microchips
How microchips are manufactured? What are different types of microchips?
Explain the uses of microchips
What chemical element/compound is used in the making of microchips? Identify the physical and chemical properties of the chemical compound.
Discuss potential health risks associated with chemicals used in microchips
Conduct an inquiry and gather evidence on how microchips can have an adverse effect on the environment.
Assess the impact of the invention of silicon chips on society(e.g. change in lifestyle, growth in entertainment sophistication, medical technology etc)
Predict future uses of microchips.