What the Micro Chip Shortage says about the Future
In the past few years, and especially after the Covid supply chain problems, the microchip–or lack thereof–became part of our everyday vocabulary, especially if you were in the car market or looking for a new piece of technology. The price gouging and limited quantities resulted from the microchip shortage.
Although these shortages have been annoying, they directly point to where we have gone as a society: from slowly adapting technologies to full-blown surrounding our lives with them. That’s why I think it’s essential to understand what a microchip is to fully understand why they are so important.
To start off, there are two main types of microchips: logic and memory chips. There also are some specialized chips that are a mix of both logic and memory chips. I’ll break them down for you.
A logic chip processes information, very similar to a brain or an engine. Logic chips are categorized as CPU’s (central processing units). These chips are made up of a specific arrangement of transistors.
The memory chip stores the most important information that the computer constantly goes back to, having fast efficient access to memory rather than storing all of the memory on a slower form of memory like an SSD (solid state drive). Memory chips are classified as RAM, or random access memory. Because these chips act as the brains of the computer, they are very integral as, without them, the computer would not function.
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Both of these chips are important to the computer, and it may be hard to see how cars and dishwashers and refrigerators (all things affected by the microchip shortage) can be affected, as they do not act like computers. However, these items are more technologically advanced than ever. Cars often have full on touch screens with their own user interface, and most modern appliances have a slew of connectability, programmability, and other major features as well. As more and more companies and sectors become increasingly reliant on technology, the production will have to match that reliance.
But, the issue with microchips is they are very hard and expensive to produce, especially with the high end equipment that is needed. As you can imagine, a tiny computer brain requires specialized equipment, extensive quality control, and lots of not so abundant natural resources. As much as this shortage stinks, it also is exciting.
It shows that as a society, we are moving into a new technological era and this shortage is just getting us better equipped for the future. This is because a flurry of new companies and factories have popped up and are starting to produce microchips. However, because the process is so precise, it will take some time until these new companies are pumping out microchips like Apple pumping out phones.
I encourage you to keep a keen eye on the news about the microchip shortage and other possible shortages, and to take a good look at everything in your house and around you and question what has a microchip in it, especially the next time you fill our glass with ice or turn up your air conditioner.`
