{"video_id":"8W9CA1QENqg","title":"Why is Silicon Used for Computer Chips?","channel":"Techquickie","show":"Techquickie","published_at":"2017-05-06T14:58:16Z","duration_s":345,"segments":[{"start_s":0.32,"end_s":6.16,"text":"Silicon Valley that part of California","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":3.36,"end_s":10.8,"text":"where CPUs are designed startups flourish and no one can afford to buy a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.84,"end_s":16.4,"text":"house but did you ever stop to think about why it's called Silicon Valley why","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":13.839,"end_s":21.32,"text":"exactly does Silicon seem to be so universally used for electronics instead","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":18.6,"end_s":26.519,"text":"of some other material like copper graphite or potato well silic has a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":24.64,"end_s":32.599,"text":"number of properties that make it unusual among chemical elements right","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":29.4,"end_s":36.48,"text":"now s ssts know of 118 elements and of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":32.599,"end_s":39.36,"text":"those only six are commonly classified","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":36.48,"end_s":45.36,"text":"as metalloids silicon being one of them these metalloids exhibit metallik","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":42.28,"end_s":48.199,"text":"characteristics but aren't true metals","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":45.36,"end_s":52.76,"text":"usually they have a silvery shiny look like true Metals but instead of being","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":50.28,"end_s":57.6,"text":"malleable they're often quite brittle meaning they can break apart easily and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":54.92,"end_s":62.559,"text":"although they can conduct electricity like metals they aren't quite as good at","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":60.239,"end_s":68.479,"text":"it which is where the word semiconductor comes from this semiconductivity is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":65.799,"end_s":72.96,"text":"especially important because while obviously computers and other things","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":70.56,"end_s":78.32,"text":"that use microchips need electricity to run their whole principle of operation","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":75.52,"end_s":82.159,"text":"relies on being able to let electricity pass through certain transistors","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":80.52,"end_s":87.799,"text":"selectively which you can learn more about in this video a normal metallic","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.72,"end_s":93.04,"text":"conductor would let electrons through too easily meaning way too many","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.36,"end_s":98.439,"text":"transistors would light up at once and your CPU wouldn't be able to process","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":95.24,"end_s":99.92,"text":"instructions correctly which is okay if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":98.439,"end_s":105.68,"text":"you want your computer to serve as a very expensive paper weight or a cheap","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":103.079,"end_s":109.719,"text":"one I guess as it were which is all fine and good then lonus but you still","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":107.64,"end_s":116.119,"text":"haven't answered the question why silicon specifically instead of some","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":112.759,"end_s":118.52,"text":"other semiconductor like geranium well","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":116.119,"end_s":123.92,"text":"although Silicon Valley might be an expensive place to live actual silicon","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":121.439,"end_s":128.0,"text":"is quite cheap and it's also pretty easy to find in the Earth's crust in fact","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":126.28,"end_s":132.76,"text":"silicon is one of the most common elements in the universe so it's fully","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":130.959,"end_s":138.76,"text":"possible that space fairing civilizations in some distant Galaxy are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":135.36,"end_s":141.48,"text":"using silicon CPUs to play Plants versus","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":138.76,"end_s":146.319,"text":"humans or whatever silicon also has other benefits such as being able to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":143.48,"end_s":152.239,"text":"operate well at a wide temperature range stock coolers am I right and it can be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.959,"end_s":157.08,"text":"easily doped with other chemicals that are necessary for microprocessors to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":154.28,"end_s":162.72,"text":"work for example it's quite easy to form an insulating layer of silicon dioxide","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":160.2,"end_s":168.48,"text":"just by sticking silicon into a hot furnace the tiny transistors in a CPU","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":165.959,"end_s":173.4,"text":"need insulated areas to further control and direct the flow of electricity with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":170.92,"end_s":178.28,"text":"Precision so silicon's versatility makes it a natural choice but even though","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":176.319,"end_s":183.68,"text":"silicon has proven to be extremely useful it is not perfect although it's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":181.28,"end_s":187.36,"text":"cheap and abundant there is a tradeoff with how quickly it can conduct","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":185.28,"end_s":191.68,"text":"electricity other semiconducting materials can move the electrons around","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":189.599,"end_s":196.879,"text":"faster meaning that they could be used to make higher performance processors","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":193.92,"end_s":201.599,"text":"albeit at a higher cost and another limitation of silicon will mean that it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":198.84,"end_s":206.72,"text":"will not be the universal material in our processors for too much longer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":204.48,"end_s":210.48,"text":"transistors keep being made smaller and smaller and smaller in order to make our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":208.519,"end_s":214.439,"text":"chips more powerful and more power efficient but we're getting to the point","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.319,"end_s":218.56,"text":"where silicon can't be made into transistors much smaller than what we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":216.599,"end_s":224.12,"text":"have already due to its chemical properties in fact Intel has already","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":221.08,"end_s":226.36,"text":"announced that for its 7 nanometer chips","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":224.12,"end_s":230.64,"text":"that could be released around 2020 it will be using something other than","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":228.439,"end_s":236.799,"text":"silicon to put that in context 7 nanometers is only about 35 atoms wide","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":234.84,"end_s":242.239,"text":"so there you have it while smaller transistors and faster CPUs may require","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":239.2,"end_s":245.2,"text":"more EX materials there's no doubt that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":242.239,"end_s":249.4,"text":"the path to this future of tomorrow was paved with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":246.959,"end_s":252.64,"text":"silicon I mean quite literally really if you think about it they used to use it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":250.64,"end_s":257.6,"text":"in like Pottery in bricks they still do use it in bricks if you count like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":254.48,"end_s":260.68,"text":"Minecraft speaking of bricks let's say","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":257.6,"end_s":263.12,"text":"you work as like a freelance brick layer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":260.68,"end_s":267.919,"text":"or you do on the side computer work or you run a small dance studio out of your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":265.199,"end_s":274.28,"text":"garage whatever it is that you do as a freelancer or small business buiness","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":270.36,"end_s":276.84,"text":"owner it shouldn't be wasting time with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":274.28,"end_s":282.0,"text":"complicated accounting software and that is where freshbooks comes in freshbooks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":279.36,"end_s":287.12,"text":"is designed to save you time and help you use the time that you save to make","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":284.199,"end_s":291.0,"text":"more money or have more of a life and they've got a whole new platform that's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":288.84,"end_s":296.56,"text":"been redesigned for the way you work to be simpler and easier than ever before","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":294.24,"end_s":300.28,"text":"not to mention helping you get paid more quickly you can create and send","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":298.4,"end_s":303.919,"text":"professional looking invoices less than 30 seconds you can set up online","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":302.36,"end_s":309.0,"text":"payments with just a couple of clicks and get paid up to 4 days faster and you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":306.639,"end_s":314.039,"text":"can even see when your client has seen your invoice and put an end to the oh","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":311.96,"end_s":318.4,"text":"did you send that to me ohg I guess I'll check with dill from accounting and see","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":315.88,"end_s":323.039,"text":"if we could pay that eventually no no wrong so fresh books is offering a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":320.8,"end_s":327.199,"text":"30-day unrestricted free trial to our viewers and declaim it all you have to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":324.44,"end_s":331.319,"text":"do is head to freshbooks.com tequi and enter Techquickie in the how did you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":328.88,"end_s":334.08,"text":"hear about us section so thanks for watching guys if you like this video","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":332.68,"end_s":337.72,"text":"like it if you disliked it dislike it if you want to check out other channels we'll have a featured video right about","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":336.56,"end_s":346.44,"text":"there and you can leave a comment with video suggestions down there and you can subscribe and follow wherever in all the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":343.44,"end_s":346.44,"text":"ways","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"Silicon Valley that part of California where CPUs are designed startups flourish and no one can afford to buy a house but did you ever stop to think about why it's called Silicon Valley why exactly does Silicon seem to be so universally used for electronics instead of some other material like copper graphite or potato well silic has a number of properties that make it unusual among chemical elements right now s ssts know of 118 elements and of those only six are commonly classified as metalloids silicon being one of them these metalloids exhibit metallik characteristics but aren't true metals usually they have a silvery shiny look like true Metals but instead of being malleable they're often quite brittle meaning they can break apart easily and although they can conduct electricity like metals they aren't quite as good at it which is where the word semiconductor comes from this semiconductivity is especially important because while obviously computers and other things that use microchips need electricity to run their whole principle of operation relies on being able to let electricity pass through certain transistors selectively which you can learn more about in this video a normal metallic conductor would let electrons through too easily meaning way too many transistors would light up at once and your CPU wouldn't be able to process instructions correctly which is okay if you want your computer to serve as a very expensive paper weight or a cheap one I guess as it were which is all fine and good then lonus but you still haven't answered the question why silicon specifically instead of some other semiconductor like geranium well although Silicon Valley might be an expensive place to live actual silicon is quite cheap and it's also pretty easy to find in the Earth's crust in fact silicon is one of the most common elements in the universe so it's fully possible that space fairing civilizations in some distant Galaxy are using silicon CPUs to play Plants versus humans or whatever silicon also has other benefits such as being able to operate well at a wide temperature range stock coolers am I right and it can be easily doped with other chemicals that are necessary for microprocessors to work for example it's quite easy to form an insulating layer of silicon dioxide just by sticking silicon into a hot furnace the tiny transistors in a CPU need insulated areas to further control and direct the flow of electricity with Precision so silicon's versatility makes it a natural choice but even though silicon has proven to be extremely useful it is not perfect although it's cheap and abundant there is a tradeoff with how quickly it can conduct electricity other semiconducting materials can move the electrons around faster meaning that they could be used to make higher performance processors albeit at a higher cost and another limitation of silicon will mean that it will not be the universal material in our processors for too much longer transistors keep being made smaller and smaller and smaller in order to make our chips more powerful and more power efficient but we're getting to the point where silicon can't be made into transistors much smaller than what we have already due to its chemical properties in fact Intel has already announced that for its 7 nanometer chips that could be released around 2020 it will be using something other than silicon to put that in context 7 nanometers is only about 35 atoms wide so there you have it while smaller transistors and faster CPUs may require more EX materials there's no doubt that the path to this future of tomorrow was paved with silicon I mean quite literally really if you think about it they used to use it in like Pottery in bricks they still do use it in bricks if you count like Minecraft speaking of bricks let's say you work as like a freelance brick layer or you do on the side computer work or you run a small dance studio out of your garage whatever it is that you do as a freelancer or small business buiness owner it shouldn't be wasting time with complicated accounting software and that is where freshbooks comes in freshbooks is designed to save you time and help you use the time that you save to make more money or have more of a life and they've got a whole new platform that's been redesigned for the way you work to be simpler and easier than ever before not to mention helping you get paid more quickly you can create and send professional looking invoices less than 30 seconds you can set up online payments with just a couple of clicks and get paid up to 4 days faster and you can even see when your client has seen your invoice and put an end to the oh did you send that to me ohg I guess I'll check with dill from accounting and see if we could pay that eventually no no wrong so fresh books is offering a 30-day unrestricted free trial to our viewers and declaim it all you have to do is head to freshbooks.com tequi and enter Techquickie in the how did you hear about us section so thanks for watching guys if you like this video like it if you disliked it dislike it if you want to check out other channels we'll have a featured video right about there and you can leave a comment with video suggestions down there and you can subscribe and follow wherever in all the ways"}