Life today seems as if it would be impossible without computers. People use computers for everyday life and for social networking on sites such as Facebook or MySpace. In fact, it is more convenient than ever to look up old friends that you lost contact with. Websites like People Search allow you to find contact information for people just based off of a name or email address. Everything from performing mundane tasks at work to checking out while grocery shopping, making bank transactions, watching television and even talking on the phone uses computer technology in some way.
If you dig a little deeper, you would find that the central piece to the puzzle, the part that makes computers work the way they do and help us in an uncountable number of ways, is the semiconductor. Without a semiconductor, a computer would not be capable of functioning.
Semiconductors are made most commonly of silicon or germanium, and get their name from their ability to conduct electrical currents at room temperature, or without requiring excess heat or coolness to function. To make the silicon chip into a semiconductor, it must be infused with impurities to make it more conducive to electricity.
Once the semiconductor is formed, it is used as a part of an integrated circuit that is used to operate a device. The most common place to find a semiconductor is something the majority of people has in their homes – computers. Ever since the 1970s, computers have relied on semiconductors, integrated circuits and microprocessors to help decrease their size and cost while increasing speed and reliability.
Today, through their use in computers, semiconductors are found in every facet of life. The cell phones used for communication and surfing the internet use them, as do our televisions and even many kitchen appliances.