Craving for chips: Best books, podcasts on the world of semiconductors

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Electronics magazine, which featured the breakthrough article – Cramming More Components On to Integrated Circuits – by Gordon Moore, an electronics engineer, who went on to run Intel.Often considered the most influential trade magazine article ever published, it foretold the future of modern computing.Some of us do remember an ‘Intel Inside’ sticker on our early laptops and desktops which asserted that it’s all powered by a semiconductor chip – the foundation of modern electronics. A semiconductor (like silicon), as the name suggests is a material that's neither a great conductor (like metal) nor a complete insulator (like plastic).These chips – also known as an integrated circuit or microchip – and typically made from thin slices of silicon crystals, known as wafers, contain tiny electronic components, such as transistors, diodes, and resistors.

These complex circuits power everything from your smartphones to cars to your child’s toys to kitchen appliances to medical devices to, and a lot more.The fact that the mecca of modern technology innovation is called “Silicon Valley" underlines the role of chips in the digital age – and how they affect the global economy.If that has piqued your interest, here’s a selection of books and podcasts to satiate your craving for chips.Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical TechnologyChris Miller | Scribner/Simon & SchusterOne of Barack Obama's favourite books of 2023, Chip War is an epic, edifying account of the geopolitical and technological history of the global semiconductor industry, and the challenge for global diplomacy. Miller is associate professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and has authored three books in the past.The book is a highly topical