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   Stephan Schulz (stephanschulz@fosstodon.org)'s status on Thursday, 13-Mar-2025 17:35:59 JST Stephan Schulz

   in reply to

   • Greg Egan

   @gregeganSF Only TSMC can make the chips we all need, but only ASML can build the machines that TSML needs to make the chips, but only Trumpf can make the laser systems that ASML needs to build the machines, but only Zeiss can provide the optics that Trumpf needs to make the laser systems. This is the reality of the modern world economy. Now lets throw in some random tariffs....

   • Embed this notice
     Greg Egan (gregegansf@mathstodon.xyz)'s status on Thursday, 13-Mar-2025 17:36:01 JST Greg Egan

     Extreme UV lithography for microchips is wild.

     “Getting to EUV light with a wavelength of 13.5 nm requires a source ... around 200,000 °C.”

     This turns out to involve laser-zapping tin droplets into exploding bursts of plasma, creating shock waves similar to those of supernovae.

     https://spectrum.ieee.org/euv-light-source

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     Stephan Schulz (stephanschulz@fosstodon.org)'s status on Thursday, 13-Mar-2025 19:57:14 JST Stephan Schulz

     • Greg Egan
     • Infoseepage

     @Infoseepage @gregeganSF Arguably, such interdependence is good. It obviously has short term benefits (otherwise it would not evolve), and once established it provides a motivation for avoiding hard conflicts, as the losses would outweigh any potential gains. You can apply the same argument to humans - we are desperately dependent on those around us. The lone hunter on the steppe is lucky if he has _good_ stone tools.

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     F4GRX Sébastien (f4grx@chaos.social)'s status on Thursday, 13-Mar-2025 21:18:22 JST F4GRX Sébastien

     • Greg Egan
     • Infoseepage

     @Infoseepage @StephanSchulz @gregeganSF no other country can develop new EUV stuff. See the asianometry videos.