Chips and Semiconductors · 晶片與半導體
Chips and Semiconductors 晶片與半導體
Chips are in almost everything we use, and Taiwan is famous for making them. But what is inside a chip? Zoom from sand to silicon to switches smaller than a virus, then see how chips are stacked for AI.
我們用的東西幾乎都有晶片，台灣也以製造晶片聞名。可是晶片裡到底有什麼？從沙子、矽，一路放大到比病毒還小的開關，再看看 AI 晶片怎麼疊在一起。
Every lesson starts with a question you might hear in the news or at the dinner table. A 3D model shows the answer, one idea at a time, and an English reading explains it, with Chinese a tap away.
每一課都從一個新聞裡、餐桌上會聽到的問題開始：先用 3D 模型看答案，一課只講清楚一個道理；再讀一篇英文短文把它說明白，中文翻譯隨點隨看。
The lessons are grouped into three units: what a semiconductor is, how chips are made, and the chips behind AI. When a lesson touches an idea already explained in How Things Work, such as solar panels or computer memory, it links there instead of explaining it twice.
課程分成三個單元：半導體是什麼、晶片怎麼做出來、AI 時代的晶片。遇到「萬物原理」已經講過的東西，例如太陽能板、電腦記憶體，就直接連過去，不重講一次。
Every number is checked against a source listed at the bottom of each lesson. Company names appear only to explain how chips are made, never as advice about stocks or investing.
每一個數字都查證過，出處列在每課最下方。提到公司名稱只是為了說明晶片怎麼做，不談股票，也不做任何投資建議。
4 of 8 lessons are ready so far; more are on the way.
目前完成 4 課（共規劃 8 課），持續增加中。
Unit 1 · 單元一
What Is a Semiconductor? 半導體是什麼
Why silicon conducts only a little, how a pinch of other atoms changes that, and how a switch with no moving parts runs every computer.
矽為什麼只導一點點電、加一點點別的原子怎麼改變它，以及沒有任何會動零件的開關怎麼讓電腦運作。
What Is a Semiconductor?
什麼是半導體？Copper conducts, glass does not, and silicon is in between. Test all three in 3D, then zoom into silicon's atoms and add a pinch of phosphorus or boron to see how a few atoms change everything.銅會導電、玻璃不會，矽介於兩者之間。在 3D 裡測試三種材料，再放大到矽的原子，加一點點磷或硼，看幾個原子怎麼改變一切。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →What Does a Transistor Do?
電晶體在做什麼？A transistor is a switch with no moving parts. Turn up the gate voltage and watch a channel of electrons appear in 3D, then wire two switches together to make AND, OR, and the first step of adding.電晶體是沒有任何會動零件的開關。在 3D 裡調高閘極電壓，看電子的通道長出來；再把兩個開關接在一起，做出「且」「或」和加法的第一步。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →Unit 2 · 單元二
How Chips Are Made 晶片怎麼做出來
From quartz to a shining wafer, drawing circuits with light, and how small a nanometer really is.
從石英到閃亮的晶圓、用光畫出電路，以及奈米到底有多小。
How Does Sand Become a Chip?
沙子怎麼變成晶片？Follow silicon from a pile of quartz sand to a shining wafer in 3D: melt it, purify it, pull a giant crystal out of a pot of liquid silicon, slice it thin, and cut out hundreds of chips. Then find out how many chips one wafer can hold.在 3D 裡跟著矽，從一堆石英砂走到閃亮的晶圓：熔煉、提純、從一鍋熔化的矽裡拉出一根大單晶、切成薄片，再切出幾百顆晶片。最後算算一片晶圓能做幾顆晶片。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →How Do You Draw a Circuit Smaller Than a Virus?
怎麼畫出比病毒還小的電路？Chips are drawn with light. In 3D, watch light shine through a mask and shrink onto a wafer, switch from DUV to EUV light made by blasting drops of tin, then cut open the wafer to see the five steps that carve a pattern. Then make a sun print on your screen.晶片是用光畫出來的。在 3D 裡看光穿過光罩、縮小印到晶圓上；從 DUV 切換到用雷射打錫滴產生的 EUV；再把晶圓剖開，看刻出圖案的五個步驟。最後在螢幕上曬一張藍曬圖。Start the lesson · 開始上課 →How Small Is a Nanometer? An Angstrom?
奈米、埃米有多小？Unit 3 · 單元三
Chips for the AI Age AI 時代的晶片
Why chips are stacked together, why AI needs fast memory, and how Taiwan became a chip island.
晶片為什麼要疊在一起、AI 為什麼需要快速的記憶體，以及台灣怎麼成為晶片島。