In today's electronics filled world you'll find that of most of these devices have a simple chip. Everything from a computer to a smart phone to a GPS all have the same building blocks that come together in uniformity to create what we come to know as modern electronic devices. Of course there are detailed equations and formulas that describe everything about the voltages, electric and magnetic fields and even power dissipation. This is something far beyond the scope of this article, however what I do want to discuss is the different levels of technology from its highest to its lowest levels that make today's technologies all possible.
Level 1: Software
This is the highest level of technologies known today. High level coding languages like Java, C and C++ are used to write programs like these. You can do amazing things with software coding because you can apply very complicated algorithms that can have amazing results. These include mobile apps, high graphics video games and many more amazing programs. This coding eventually led to network programming which makes everything about the internet possible today. The most amazing software of all by the way is the operating system. Without this all the programs I mentioned above would not even be possible.
Level 2: Assembly and Architecture
This is the level below software and deals with assembly coding that essentially talks to the hardware of the computer directly. It controls registers (hardware component that stores data) and manipulates them into doing the commands possible for high level software to really work. In essence every line of code in C, C++ or Java can be written in this assembly language. Furthermore, you get to see just how exactly each one of those lines in high level programs work when it comes to manipulating hardware.
Level 3: Digital Logic
This level is lower than assembly and is used to create things like chips and registers. The components of digital logic include logic gates that represent the building blocks of a modern computer processor. Digital logic also has the powerful capability of creating Finite State Machines, which are essentially set and forget smart control systems implemented on the microprocessor layer. Some logic gates include the AND, OR and NOT gates.
Level 4: Transistors
Transistors are to modern electronics what cells are to a living being. It is what logic gates are composed of and provide the simple functionality that make all today's electronics possible. This is the high and low voltage levels known commonly as the 1 and the 0. The ability of a transistor to do this makes all the higher levels I mentioned possible. It is truly probably one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century.
Level 5: Material Physics
This is the quantum mechanics level that makes transistors possible. This involves the careful manipulation of protons, electrons and semiconductors in very closed lab environments that are even protected against the slightest vibrations. This nano meter process gives hardware designers the ability to put billions of transistors in a tiny space.
So I hope you got some basic understanding of how today's modern technologies are made. It is my hope that with this you will investigate even further into one of the layers and gain a deeper or even a more technical understanding.
Peter F. Rosen is an electrical and computer engineer and writes about topics relating to modern technologies.
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