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The Silicon Chip: A Tech Revolution

The inside story of the development of the silicon chip and its impact on the world

It鈥檚 forty five years since the commercial introduction of the first microcomputer chip set which evolved into the modern microprocessor, changing computers from tools for scientists into the engines which power today鈥檚 electronic consumer appliances. So how did the silicon chip evolve and where might this revolution be heading next?
Bridget Kendal is joined by four distinguished computer and internet pioneers who helped spearhead some of the most important inventions of the computer age.
Vinod Dham invented the first Pentium micro-processor and went on to become Vice-President at the world鈥檚 largest chip maker-Intel. His early work in this field earned him the nickname 鈥淭he Father of the Pentium chip.鈥 Sophie Wilson鈥檚 computer design was used to build the Acorn Micro-Computer. She also led the development of the ARM microprocessor, found in over half of the world鈥檚 consumer electronics. David Laws is a technology historian and a curator of the Computer History Museum in California. Dame Wendy Hall is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton in the UK. She worked alongside Sir Tim Berners Lee on an early version of the World Wide Web.

Photo: A silicon chip (Getty Images)

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41 minutes

Last on

Wed 18 Jan 2017 02:06GMT

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  • Wed 18 Jan 2017 02:06GMT

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