Chips and Wafers: The Intel Online Exhibits

It seems that many online exhibits (or at least, many of the ones I've encountered so far) center around technology.  Whether these museums are about cameras or computers or software, they are likely to be awash in jargon and technical drawings.  This is no doubt due to the nature of these museums' subjects - if you enjoy putting together computers or designing new image capture programs, you're probably more inclined to also work on a virtual exhibition.  The Intel Online Exhibits are another entry in this virtual exhibit genre, although this may be the one case where I wish there was more information.

There are four virtual exhibits you can explore at Intel's website:  From Sand to Circuits (which explains how silicon chips are made), a biography of co-founder Robert Noyce, an explanation of Moore's Law, and a presentation on the 4004, Intel's first proto-computer.  From Sand to Circuits was probably the best exhibit, because it has several different layers you canto engage with.  The opening screen provides a layman's description of how computer chips are made.  You can also choose to look at the Fun Facts section, which is an even briefer explanation, or download a PDF that contains everything you could ever want to know about Intel's chips.  It's nice that all this information isn't crammed together but is instead presented in a way that allows you to choose how much you want to learn.

The Robert Noyce biography is rather on the short side, and I wish they had concentrated on his legacy and his posthumous contributions to the field of informal science (though I might be biased in that case). There are photos and videos of him included in this exhibit, but I could go to Wikipedia and get almost the same experience.

The Intel 4004 section is more comprehensive than any of the other exhibits, but it's short on practical information.  Here you can view photos and historical documents (like technical drawings and manuals), which I suppose can appeal to historical computer nerds.  In terms of explanation for the rest of us, though, this exhibit could use some help.  It took a lot of searching and reading to figure out just what was special about the 4004, and I'm still not entirely clear on its role in the computer pantheon.

I was excited to see there was a section on Gordon Moore, because I'm actually familiar with the prediction he's most famous for.  The essence of Moore's Law is that computers will get faster, smaller and less expensive as time goes on, and this has been exactly what's happened to technology in the 47 years since Moore first made this prediction.  But that's not how Intel explains it - instead, they quote Moore directly and then fail to really explain what this law means.  It would help to have some kind of discussion of the implication of Moore's Law - for example, how has this law driven industry?  And can we expect it to continue on indefinitely, or is there a limit?

I guess if there is one thing the Intel Online Exhibits taught me, it's that I do have some underlying curiosity about technology.  I actually would like to know more about the 4004, the life of Robert Noyce, and what Moore's Law tells us about the future.  From Sand to Circuits points out the way to answer these questions for visitors:  construct exhibits as layers of information, and let us choose what we want to explore.  This, I think, could be an excellent way to bring computer expertise to the masses and break down the barriers to knowledge about technology.


Intel Online Exhibits
Website:  www.intel.com/about/companyinfo/museum/exhibits