Bravo to both Intel and NASA for continually educating the public on complex science and technology topics.
One of the latest entries in this oeuvre comes from Intel for its sneak peek into an Oregon chip fab to describe extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV). Such technology can project chip circuit patterns onto a silicon wafer at 13.5 nanometers, more than 10 times smaller than other lithography machines.
It took three Boeing 747 cargo planes, 40 freight containers and 20 trucks to deliver the EUV system to the fab. It has 100,000 parts and weighs 200 tons and takes up the space of a school bus.
The machine is made by ASML in The Netherlands, which is working on a next-gen version that Intel has ordered and is first in line to receive.
The way the EUV works and some of the principles of lithography are described in a 4-minute Intel-produced video.
Separately, NASA has been releasing a steady stream of videos and blogs for years about the upcoming Artemis Moon and Mars expedition (among many others) and has lately been posting insights on the James Webb Space Telescope mission that has been 17 years in the making. Webb is expected to lift off Friday at 7:20 am EST.
RELATED: Webb Space Telescope launch set for Friday from French Guiana
One of the coolest video presentations for the Webb mission was a video explanation of the element Beryllium used to fabricate the telescope mirror. The metal is super lightweight (less than aluminum), six times stiffer than steel and can hold its shape and volume in the cold of space. Fun fact: the Webb telescope mirrors are a little larger than they will be in space (and engineers calculated how much it will shrink, of course).
Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s science mission directorate, has posted many times about Webb and other NASA projects and seems to enjoy his role as an astrophysics evangelist, a role NASA has filled over the years. He also understands the Twitter audience well with his human touch including a photo of his puppy Luna getting a belly rub:
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger also recently made a personal turn as PhD-turned-CEO in an onstage 49-minute interview recorded on video by the The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
In it, he revealed some key insights about Intel’s future since taking over the reins earlier in 2021. Some of the better moments in the video come when he talks about working as a technician at Intel just out of high school and his willingness to share his Christian faith openly, including with regular tweets of scripture from the Bible.
Noting that his father didn’t inherit a farm with financial help from his grandfather as did eight other uncles, Gelsinger added, “My dad never had his own farm. Had he had his own farm, I would be a farmer today. Oldest son, I would go info farming.”
The full David Rubenstein interview of Gelsinger is well worth the investment of time:
Both Intel and NASA constantly show in blogs and videos they believe their mission is much larger than inventing new technology. They obviously want to share their love for science, engineering and math.