Hey, can one of the engineers on this thread explain to me the difference between a semiconductor and a superconductor (in lay terms, please)? And what is it, exactly, that these things "conduct"?
A semiconductor and a superconductor both conduct electricity, a superconductor does it at 300 below zero with out any electrical loss - you put in one piece of electicity and it just stays there.
And while you are at it, I assume that "chip" is simply another name for a semiconductor, correct? Or is it a special kind of semicon.? Are there non-chip semicon.'s? If so, what do they do?
Chips are itty bitty pices of silicon with lotsa minute areas of electical conducting materials - called semiconductors. All semiconductors are chips, not all chips are semiconductors - they throw the latter away.
And when companies like Intel, or Nat. Semi., or Appl. Mat. diversify, what is it that they diversify into? Do semicon.'s have a variety of applications (like chips do)?
INTC NSM are chip producing companies, AMAT makess the expensive equipment and developes the process for INTC and NSM to buy to help them create semiconductor chips.
When INTC diversifies they might start making network chips instead of PC cpu's, when AMAT diversifies they might get into Gallium Arsenide chips. |
