We are in the swirling center of the most life-changing technological revolution the Earth has ever known. In only 60 years an eye-blink of human history a single technological invention has launched the proverbial thousand ships producing the most sweeping and pervasive set of changes ever to wash over humankind; changes that are reshaping the very core of human existence on a global scale at a relentlessly accelerating pace. And we are just at the very beginning. Silicon Earth introduces readers with little or no background to the many marvels of microelectronics and nanotechnology using easy non-intimidating language with an intuitive approach using minimal math. The general scientific and engineering underpinnings of microelectronics and nanotechnology are addressed as well as how this new technological revolution is transforming a broad array of interdisciplinary fields and civilization as a whole. Special 'widget deconstruction' chapters address the inner workings of ubiquitous micro/nano-enabled pieces of technology such as cell phones flash drives GPS DVDs and digital cameras. Language: English