19
votes
Semiconductor foundries are a thing of the past. Rebuild the computer industry if you can
Much Smaller Wafers and Much Larger Chips
Smaller wafers require smaller foundries, which should be more survivable. This will drive the foundries to older tech, so the transistors will be larger.
...
- 11.1k
15
votes
Could the average human survive if we were thrown back in the wilderness?
It's very hard to find details on what the average human is
54% of us live in cities, you can probably accept most of them as lost.
80% live in "less developed" countries, they have a better ...
- 118k
14
votes
Semiconductor foundries are a thing of the past. Rebuild the computer industry if you can
I imagine you'd see a return to the computers of the 1960s and 1970s built of discrete logic chips (TTL at the time).
If you still have access to modern manufacturing at the PCB and simple component ...
- 241
7
votes
Semiconductor foundries are a thing of the past. Rebuild the computer industry if you can
There are alternative technologies and, now, a strong drive to invest on them
If a main technology becomes unfeasible or too costly, then alternative technologies will become more competitive and ...
- 7,469
7
votes
Semiconductor foundries are a thing of the past. Rebuild the computer industry if you can
Assuming that you want computing in the numerical sense, and don't require electronics, then you can do many things with clockwork. Wikipedia gives a better summary than I can.
For the general-purpose ...
- 3,079
6
votes
Could the average human survive if we were thrown back in the wilderness?
We're Kind of Wussies Today
Back in college I spent about 6 months in a HEMA class studying and practising historically accurate combat. We would translate old manuscripts that detailed historical ...
- 21.2k
5
votes
Semiconductor foundries are a thing of the past. Rebuild the computer industry if you can
not rely on external foundries or investments of more than ten million dollars before beginning production.
Best I can do is this:
Anything requiring the finesse of even 80's level electronics will ...
- 142k
5
votes
Accepted
Bootstrapping design for an Artificial General Intelligence's "first" body
You'll want much, much deeper, thicker treads if you want the grooves to provide traction in mud; making the treads deep enough may enable it to swim without using the propellors. Additionally, ...
- 13.1k
5
votes
Semiconductor foundries are a thing of the past. Rebuild the computer industry if you can
3D Printing Integrated Circuits
We can already 3D print PCBs. There are multiple companies working on 3D printing semiconductors.
By nature, 3D printers are slower than dedicated manufacturers for ...
- 2,076
4
votes
How to non-lethally capture a sapient gorilla using only what can be found in an average American kitchen?
Capture
Offer the gorilla yummy baked goods that cause impressive diarrhea. Then turn on the TV.
Easy enough: Just use a lot of cooking oil.
Result: The gorilla will simply shuttle between the ...
- 28.9k
4
votes
Semiconductor foundries are a thing of the past. Rebuild the computer industry if you can
Believe it or not, there is actually such a thing as amateur semiconductor manufacturing.
A fellow on YouTube by the name of Sam Zeloof has made his own integrated circuits and covered the process in ...
- 321
3
votes
Could the average human survive if we were thrown back in the wilderness?
Classical Robinson Crusoe scenario. Man is stranded, man must survive with the bare necessary.
No, civilization as they lived it cannot be reconstrucred from scratch, even if their ship had all the ...
- 3,849
3
votes
Most of Solar System is colonized but Earth dies with most of knowledge and technology. What the colonists may do to rebuild the civilization?
Well, for reference -- the surface temperature of Venus is 460 degrees Celsius, which is higher than the melting point of lead. So if Earth is in that boat, game over for Earth. In the short term, the ...
- 1,349
3
votes
Semiconductor foundries are a thing of the past. Rebuild the computer industry if you can
Frame challenge
You put the foundries underground.
10 meters of earth are surprisingly difficult to destroy.
10 meters of stone (even soft stone), and you need military-grade weaponry to even make a ...
- 1,817
2
votes
Could the average human survive if we were thrown back in the wilderness?
If you could get the humans together, they would be fine
The problem with a small scattered population
The largest obstacle seems to be that the questions specifies that only 5000 people from ...
- 5,673
2
votes
Semiconductor foundries are a thing of the past. Rebuild the computer industry if you can
To begin with, besides a guy who DIY chips in a garage First IC :) – Sam Zeloof, on techprocesses of 70's, there is another valuable resource The Chip History Center - The Virtual Museum of ...
- 6,501
2
votes
How to non-lethally capture a sapient gorilla using only what can be found in an average American kitchen?
Get the Gorilla Drunk
A mental age of 12 and probably hasn't consumed alcohol before, get the Gorilla tipsy and ask them questions - in vino Veritas - in Wine, there is truth.
And someone who is Drunk ...
- 33.1k
2
votes
How to non-lethally capture a sapient gorilla using only what can be found in an average American kitchen?
Step 1: Gain its trust
Give it a banana or some other fruit. Poptarts will do.
Step 2: The buttering
Butter a portion of the floor, to facilitate the slipping of bipedal creatures. (Do not step on the ...
- 3,409
2
votes
Most of Solar System is colonized but Earth dies with most of knowledge and technology. What the colonists may do to rebuild the civilization?
This is a Frame Challenge
Of the 20-25 million people outside Earth, the vast, vast majority of them will be on planetary or lunar bases, not manufactured bases. And the vast, vast majority of those ...
- 129k
2
votes
Accepted
How to make a bear trap deadlier to monsters
Definitely sharpened teeth coated in fast-acting poison, but...
Bear traps are not designed for lethality, they are designed to minimize damage done to animal's fur so it can be sold for the best ...
- 765
1
vote
How to make a bear trap deadlier to monsters
Pit Trap
For big things like trolls, the pit trap is the way to go. The cube square law says Large animals are vulnerable to falling damage. They are also not agile enough to escape the pit.
The ...
- 66.2k
1
vote
Most of Solar System is colonized but Earth dies with most of knowledge and technology. What the colonists may do to rebuild the civilization?
25-30 million people living throughout Solar System, yet not on earth is HUUUUGE number. One simply CANNOT sustain that population with industry grounded on Earth. Of course, electronics to be used in ...
- 1,143
1
vote
Most of Solar System is colonized but Earth dies with most of knowledge and technology. What the colonists may do to rebuild the civilization?
Without the capability of producing chips, they are basically stuck somewhere in an Iron Age, meaning anywhere between Ancient Egypt and late Victorian era.
All their equipment will continue to work ...
- 297k
1
vote
Semiconductor foundries are a thing of the past. Rebuild the computer industry if you can
China is hostile? Intel doesn't care.
Look at the list of the semiconductor fabrication plants in the OP. In particular, look at Intel. Almost all of their plants are in the United States, and the ...
- 5,362
1
vote
Semiconductor foundries are a thing of the past. Rebuild the computer industry if you can
Farms, not plants.
There is already great interest in biological synthesis of semiconductor components. Semiconductor foundries are large and delicate. Life forms routinely undertake operations of ...
- 305k
1
vote
Could the average human survive if we were thrown back in the wilderness?
If they can survive the first full year, they might have a chance. But the odds are against them.
There are a few sets of skills that your 5,000 will need if they want to have any chance at all of ...
- 13.7k
1
vote
Building computer hardware on the Moon or Mars
Focused Electron Beam printing: the basic premise work as followed: at a high enough energy, electron beam produces secondary electrons that woud trigger a free radical chain reaction, and with the ...
- 199
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible