The first property that determines how materials are universally classified is the atoms that make up the material. These atoms are neutrons, protons, and electrons. Most materials in their elementary form are neutral since the number of protons is equal to the number of electrons. At the same time, those that are in a compound form are the ones that have a combination of two or more elements.
The second property is how different atoms making up the material are arranged in it; since various materials have a different arrangement of atoms. Thus, some are more compact than others. This is evident in the three states of matter that is: liquid, gas, and solid.
The third property is how atoms are bonded within the material itself. There are two types of bonding, in particular, covalent and ionic bonding. The first type involves sharing of the valence electrons in the material, while ionic bonding is the process where acceptance and donation of valence electrons between the atoms are present (Nils 2010).
A semiconductor is a material that is able to exhibit properties of both metals and non-metals such that they act as both insulators and, at the same time, have the ability to conduct electrons. The use of silicon based semiconductors revolutionized the field of computing due to their ability to change their level of conductivity by a process known as doping. It refers to the addition of impurities in the silicon semiconductor that alters its conductivity.
The application of semiconductors led to the invention of different miniature electrical components such as transistors and the integrated circuits. These devices possessed the ability to amplify signals, for example, the operational amplifier which is an integrated circuit. They also had the ability to switch and convert signals from one form to another.
These aforementioned properties of the silicon based semiconductor impacted on the advancement of the computer which became smaller, faster, and more efficient. Hence, the computers we use today are very different and far much better than the initial variants. The earlier computers used to consume a lot of heat. This feature has been rectified with the new generation of computers that consume less power have the ability to cool when heated. All these features are possible thanks to the invention of the silicon based semiconductor.
Nowadays, the field of computing is complex and more efficient. For example, cell phones, laptops, tablets, and notebooks were created due to the revolution experienced as a result of the silicon based semiconductor. The robot systems are being used today in almost all industries and have led to reduced workload as well as fast and efficient production of goods.
Microchips are miniature sets of electrical components that are usually etched on small semiconductor materials. The semiconductor materials preferred are germanium or silicon. It should be mentioned that a microchip forms a specific electrical circuit that achieves a specific purpose although the only difference with normal circuits is that they are very small in size. Microchips cannot be assembled by humans without the help of machines as they are so small and the soldering of the electrical components requires very specialized machinery (Turley 2002).
Microchips are related to integrated circuits in the way that they are just another form of integrated circuits. The components in the microchips are a combination of different integrated circuits that have been reduced in size. Among these components one could name transistors, operational amplifiers, power regulators, relays, and microcontrollers. These devices are combined on a single semiconductor to form a microchip. Thus, the basic relation between the microchip and integrated circuits is that the microchip itself contains integrated circuits as its integral components (Cardona 2004).
A human brain does not process information on a given time span since the speed of processing varies. At the same time, the central processing unit of a computer processes information depending on the computer’s clock speed. Hence, computers with a higher clock speed tend to process information faster while computers with a lower clock speed tend to take more time in the processing of data (Winston 2006).
One should note that artificial intelligence refers to the ability of computers and machines to reason and make decisions based on their preprogrammed logics. This includes robots working in industries or even intelligent cars that can navigate themselves on the road. These systems usually require minimal human aid as their level of success is very high and accurately efficient (Nils 2010).
Thus, the central processing units make decisions based on preprogrammed logic. This means that it cannot make decisions contrary to the programmed logic and hence it lacks the ability to reason rationally. On the other hand, human brain makes decisions based on logic as well as the rationale and experience. Therefore, it is common for humans to come to decisions that do not make sense and this is the main difference between the human brains and the central processing units of computers (Winston 2006).
Works Cited
Cardona, Manuel. Fundamentals of Semiconductors : Physics and Materials Properties. London: Springer, 2004. Print.
Nils, Nilsson. The Quest for Artificial Intelligence: A History of Ideas and Achievements, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print.
Turley, Jim (2002). The Essential Guide to Semiconductors. New York: Prentice Hall, 2002. Print.
Winston, Patrick. Artificial Intelligence. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 2006. Print.