The Semiconductor and Electronics Industry: Microchip Design and Production
The complex circuitry of a microchip appears flat and one dimensional but, in reality, it can have as many as twenty layers. The starting point for what ends up looking like a miniature electronic city is pure silicon, grown from seed crystals. As...
The Metal Plating and Finishing Industry: Electroplating: Cleaning and Preparation
Preparation of the metal surface is the first step in the electroplating process. In order for solutions to properly contact the workpiece, that workpiece must be free of any oil or dirt. The choice of cleaning methods varies, depending on the typ...
The Semiconductor and Electronics Industry: History of the Microchip
The quest for a compact, solid state unit that could perform complicated operations quickly led to the development of integrated circuits (also known as semiconductors or microchips) in the early 1960's. The power of these microchips has increased ...
Dirty Water: Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
Many scientists are convinced that there is a connection between global climate change and the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Those who believe that global warming is a real and serious problem often cite sea level rise as one reason ...
Dirty Water: Marine Absorption of Carbon Dioxide
Many scientists believe that the greenhouse gas problem would be far worse today if the ocean didn't absorb as much carbon dioxide as it does. Some in the scientific community are looking into the feasibility of increasing the amount of carbon dioxi...
Dirty Water: Pollution in Bays and Estuaries
Among the areas hardest hit by marine pollution are bays and estuaries which, under normal circumstances, are extraordinarily productive. Estuaries are vulnerable to more than just oil spills and harbor development. They can also be harmed by the ch...
Dirty Water: Eutrophication
Among the greatest threats to estuaries and other closed bodies of water is eutrophication. This is the process by which abnormally high levels of nutrients are introduced into the environment. This can create an imbalance in the local ecosystem, wh...
Dirty Water: Urban Runoff
The amount of oil that reaches the ocean from urban runoff and other terrestrial sources greatly exceeds the oil that comes from tanker spills.