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The strange way the world's fastest microchips are made

This is the story behind one of the most valuable — and perhaps, most improbable — technologies humanity has ever created. It's a breakthrough called extreme ultraviolet lithography, and it's how the most advanced microchips in the world are made. The kind of chips powering the latest AI models. The kind of chips that the U.S. is desperately trying to keep out of the hands of China.

For years, few thought this technology was even possible. It still sounds like science fiction: A laser strong enough to blast holes in a bank vault hits a droplet of molten tin. The droplet explodes into a burst of extreme ultraviolet light. That precious light is funneled onto a wafer of silicon, where it etches circuits as fine as a strand of DNA. Only one company in the world that can make these advanced microchip etching machines: a Dutch firm called ASML.

Today on the show, how this breakthrough in advanced chipmaking happened — and how it almost didn't. How the long-shot idea was incubated in U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories and nurtured by U.S. tech giants. And, why a Dutch company now controls it.

This episode was hosted by Jeff Guo and Sally Helm. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Dania Suleman, and engineered by Patrick Murray. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

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Body Electric: Type, tap, scroll, BREATHE! How our tech use impacts our breath

Do you have "screen apnea"? Our special series Body Electric continues with former Microsoft executive Linda Stone who coined the term. Around 2007, Linda noticed she had an unhealthy habit while answering emails: she held her breath. On this episode, she tells host Manoush Zomorodi how she tested her friends and colleagues for "screen apnea" and what she's done since.

Then, Manoush talks to the bestselling author of Breath, science writer James Nestor, who explains how shallow breathing impacts our physical and mental health. He takes us through a simple exercise to 'reset' our breath and relieve screen time stress.

Binge the whole Body Electric series here.

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NSERC prizes awarded to five University of Toronto scholars - Backing research into billion-year-old water, evolution of plants, faster disease diagnosis, microbial energy

Backing research into billion-year-old water, evolution of plants, faster disease diagnosis, microbial energy Toronto, ON — Five University of Toronto scholars have been awarded prizes in 2016 by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) – the largest tally of winners at any university in Canada. “Our exceptional performance in the NSERC awards […]




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FHN Claims D2 Boys’ Tennis State Champ Team Title; FHC Doubles Also Crowned State Champs

According to an MLive article by Hugh Bernreuter, Forest Hills Northern High School, which was ranked sixth in the state entering the state final, surprised the field to claim the Division 2 title for the first time since winning back-to-back state titles in 2019 and 2020. The Huskies claimed a state title at No. 3 […]

The post FHN Claims D2 Boys’ Tennis State Champ Team Title; FHC Doubles Also Crowned State Champs appeared first on Forest Hills Public Schools.



  • FHPS District News

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Can peace and justice co-exist? “International Criminal Law at the Crossroads” with James Stewart, Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and Richard Dicker, Director of International Justice for Human Rights Watch

TORONTO, ON — Media are invited to attend “International Criminal Law at the Crossroads,” an intimate conversation with Canadian James Stewart, Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, together with Richard Dicker, Director of International Justice for Human Rights Watch. More than 10 years after the ICC began hearing cases, two of the world’s most prominent […]




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The New World of Work: Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft

Few people have more insight than Nadella into how teams collaborate and innovate successfully.




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The New World of Work: Microsoft’s Jared Spataro

Spataro is one of the leaders of Microsoft’s ambitious research into the future of work, and he talks about how the tech giant thinks we’ll be working in the years and decades ahead.




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Creating Leader Standard Work (LSW) Across a Distributed Business Model — Webinar Preview

I'm happy to be hosting and moderating this webinar that will be presented by Brent Loescher, a fellow instructor with me at TKMG Academy. A Lean practitioner at heart, Brent received his formal Toyota Production System training while working for Toyota Motor Sales in their North American Parts Operations. He helped develop a Lean program for the landscape maintenance industry, implementing and evolving continuous improvement programs across the country since 2009. This included co-leading a […]

The post Creating Leader Standard Work (LSW) Across a Distributed Business Model — Webinar Preview by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog.




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Titan Tool Depth Measuring Microscope

Titan Tool Supply, Inc. announced the introduction of its new model ZDM-3 vertical displacement microscope to measure minute variations in height. The Z-Axis electronic depth measuring microscope features a built-in LED co-axial illuminator to allow the user to focus on the top or bottom of the part being inspected.




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White Paper: University Uses Advanced Micro-CT Scanning for Inspection of Historical Artifacts

A Nikon Metrology XT H 225 ST computed tomography imaging system at the University of Arkansas is enabling non-destructive, 2D and 3D study of the inside as well as the outside of a wide variety of objects. Download the white paper to read more.




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How AI is Addressing Vital Challenges Across the Metrology Value Chain

In March 2023, after a GPT model passed a biology exam, Bill Gates noted on his blog that AI could save lives and address climate change. If AI can tackle such significant challenges, it can also help with issues faced by manufacturers, metrologists, and quality control professionals. This article will examine the challenges metrologists encounter and highlight potential AI-driven solutions in the metrology value chain.




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Hitachi Completes Acquisition of MA micro automation of Germany

MA micro automation will be under operation of JR Automation.
The acquisition expands JR Automation's reach into global automation markets in medical, advanced battery and other fields.




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Seeing Further with Digital Microscopy in U.S. Manufacturing

In manufacturing, microscopes and magnified viewing systems are crucial for inspecting products. Digital microscopes offer enhanced capabilities and AI-assisted inspections, revolutionizing the way manufacturers view and interact with macro and microscopic details.





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Taking Industrial Metrology to the Next Level: Dimensional Measurements with 3D X-ray Microscopy

The push for smaller, more complex device components has spiked the need for precise, non-damaging metrology, with 3D X-ray microscopy (XRM) leading the way. This technology offers high-resolution measurements critical for quality control in the electronics and manufacturing industries.




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THERE WAS A CROOKED MAN

THERE WAS A CROOKED MAN by James Christensen is a(n) Open Edition. The Edition is Limited to OPEN EDITION pcs




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THE QUEENandacute;S CROQUET-GROUND LIMITED EDITION PRINT

THE QUEENandacute;S CROQUET-GROUND LIMITED EDITION PRINT by Scott Gustafson is a(n) Limited Edition. The Edition is Limited to Limited to 950 pcs




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High School Teachers Across Denmark Prepare Students for Post-secondary Education using Maple

Mathematics has always played a central role in secondary school curriculum in Denmark. The Danish Ministry of Education continues to emphasize its importance as it mandates reforms and new standards that students are expected to meet in order to graduate. The country’s high standards of mathematics have led to the adoption of Maple in 110 of 160 Denmark high schools. Maple is a software tool from Maplesoft that makes it easy to explore, visualize and solve problems in mathematics.




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Teledyne Acquires Electronics Company Micropac Industries

Teledyne Technologies [TDY] on Monday said it has acquired Micropac Industries [MPAD] in a $57.3 million deal that adds electronic components used in space, military, industrial, and medical applications. The […]




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DoD Awards New CHIPS Funds To Microelectronics Commons Hubs

The Defense Department last Friday said it has awarded $148 million that will go to its eight regional hubs under a program designed to bolster domestic microelectronics innovation and production. […]



  • Advanced / Transformational Technology

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How to Use a Micron Gauge

Many technicians believe that a vacuum pump actually pumps ‘liquid’ moisture out of a system. This is not true.




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Dehumidification Plays a Crucial Role in Cannabis Crop Production

Grow rooms are a prominent example of the potential and the challenges of indoor agriculture.




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Carrier Enhances Ductless Lineup, Crossover Products

Carrier’s newest portfolio includes an entire lineup of ductless systems; the company is expanding offerings, incorporating new platforms and technologies, and integrating R-454B, Carrier’s refrigerant of choice.




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Micro-Air: Soft Starter Technology

The EasyStart Flex for residential and commercial HVAC is an advanced and versatile soft starter designed for all sizes of residential a/c units up to six tons (72,000 BTUs).




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New Ice Micro-Factory Unveiled In Florida

The world’s first autonomous ice micro-factory is designed to help eliminate middle-mile logistics to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, water waste, and plastic pollution.




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Crowcon Detection Instruments: Flue Gas Analyzer

This professional-grade flue gas analyzer offers features tailored to HVAC professionals.




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Episode 123: Microsoft OSLO with Don Box and Doug Purdy

In this episode we discuss Microsoft's OSLO platform with Doug Purdy and Don Box. We briefly discuss what OSLO is in general and then look at the various components of OSLO. We also look at how OSLO fits in with the general Microsoft strategy and how it compares to other DSL/Model-driven approaches. We then look at language modularization and composition and discuss the similarities with XML and Smalltalk. Finally, we discuss possible integrations of OSLO with other MD* approaches and technologies.




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Episode 210: Stefan Tilkov on Architecture and Micro Services

Micro services is an emerging trend in software architecture that focuses on small, lightweight applications as a means to avoid large, unmaintainable, monolithic systems. This approach allows for individual technology stacks for each component and more resilient systems. Micro services uses well-known communication schemes such as REST but also require new technologies for the implementation. […]




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Episode 213: James Lewis on Microservices

Johannes Thönes talks to James Lewis, principal consultant at ThoughtWorks, about microservices. They discuss microservices’ recent popularity, architectural styles, deployment, size, technical decisions, and consumer-driven contracts. They also compare microservices to service-oriented architecture and wrap up the episode by talking about key figures in the microservice community and standing on the shoulders of giants. Recording […]




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Episode 216: Adrian Cockcroft on the Modern Cloud-based Platform

Adrian Cockcroft discusses the challenges in creating a dynamic, flexible, cloud-based platform with SE Radio host Stefan Tilkov. After briefly discussing the definition of “cloud computing,” Adrian explains the history behind Netflix’s move to the cloud (which he led). After highlighting some of the differences that have developers and architects must face, Adrian talks about […]




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SE-Radio Episode 340: Lara Hogan and Deepa Subramaniam on Revitalizing a Cross-Functional Product Organization

Travis Kimmel talks with Lara Hogan and Deepa Subramaniam about evidence-based tactics that product and engineering leaders can use to can use to diagnose problems that are holding back their teams, and build healthier, high-performing organizations.




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Episode 351 - Bernd Rücker on Orchestrating Microservices with Workflow Management

Bernd Rücker, who has contributed to multiple open source workflow management projects, discusses orchestrating microservices with workflow management.  As distributed systems evolve into a family of microservices that must handle long-running stateful processes with time-dependent actions, events, multiple paths through the system, and complex rollbacks, the workflow management model provides a way to ensure clear modeling, correctness, and separation of concerns.   Rücker recommends a federated model in which each microservice is paired with its own workflow to handle retries and other policies and failure modes around that service.  Robert Blumen spoke with Rücker about microservice architecture, event-driven systems, long-running stateful processes versus synchronous request/response, event handling, time-outs, and handling exceptional conditions with compensating transactions. Rücker compares the choreography versus orchestration models for collaboration and discusses why orchestration provides a better separation of concerns.  The discussion delves into the implementation of workflow management systems including persistence, scaling, event handling, timers and scheduling, and similarities to CQRS.  The discussion wraps up with monitoring and visualization.




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Episode 370: Chris Richardson on Microservice Patterns

Chris Richardson of microservices.io and author of the book Microservice Patterns discuss microservice patterns which constitute a set of best practices and building-block solutions to problems inherent microservice architecture.




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Episode 397: Pat Helland on Data Management with Microservices.mp3

Pat Helland talks to host Akshay Manchale about Data Management at scale in a Microservices world. Pat talks about trends in managaging data in a distributed microservices world, immutability, idempotence, inside and outside data, descriptive...




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Episode 422: Michael Geers on Micro Frontends

Kanchan spoke with Michael Geers on the Micro Frontends. Micro Frontends is an architectural style that aims to extends the benefits of microservices to UI.




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Episode 495: Vaughn Vernon on Strategic Monoliths and Microservices

Vaughn Vernon, author of the book “Strategic Monoliths and Microservices” discusses his book with host Akshay Manchale about strategies for purposeful architecture from the perspective of both business decision makers and technical leaders.




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Episode 508: Jérôme Laban on Cross Platform UI

Jérôme Laban, CTO of Uno Platform, joined host Jeff Doolittle for a conversation about Cross-platform User Interfaces. The conversation addressed the unique challenges and possibilities related to applications designed to run on multiple platforms...




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SE Radio 567: Dave Cross on GitHub Actions

Dave Cross, owner of Magnum Solutions and author of GitHub Actions Essentials (Clapham Technical Press), speaks with SE Radio host Gavin Henry about GitHub actions, the value they provide, and the best practices for using them in your projects. Cross describes the vast range of things that developers can do with GitHub Actions, including some use cases you might never have thought about. They start with some general discussion of CI/CD and then consider the three main types of events that drive GitHub actions before digging in to details about fine-grained action events, Action Marketplace, contexts, yaml, docker base images, self-hosted runners, and more. They further explore identity management, permissions, dependency management, saving money, and how to keep your secrets secret.




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SE Radio 598: Jonathan Crossland on the AMMERSE Framework

Jonathan Crossland, software architect, author, and business owner, joins host Jeff Doolittle for a conversation about the AMMERSE framework of design principles. They start by discussing the agile manifesto as a statement of values, and Jonathan shares his perspective based on his experience as a software developer and business owner. They then explore the three layers of the AMMERSE framework and how they help business and engineering leaders to align their values, thereby improving their ability to collaborate and reach common goals. Brought to you by IEEE Computer Society and IEEE Software magazine.




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RSS Enclosure Support in Micro.Blog

An effort is underway to examine how feed publishers and feed consumers are handling the lack of clarity in the RSS 2.0 specification about whether an item can contain more than one enclosure. The RSS Best Practices Profile recommends that a feed item should contain no more than one enclosure "for best support in the widest number of aggregators," advice worth testing against current usage.

The artisanal small-batch blogging service Micro.blog is a platform for sharing short posts like Twitter, but in a way designed to be less viral, more low key and less prone to provocation, attention seeking and clout chasing. There are no follower counts, public likes or trending topics. Founder Manton Reese explained why in his book Indie Microblogging:

Big social networks like Instagram are designed to amplify accounts that gain traction, whether they are fake or not.

Micro.blog limits search and avoids public likes and reposts so that the snowball starts small and stays small. Instead of going viral and becoming a major problem, fake accounts can be spotted early and shut down if necessary.

Since being funded by a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 that hit its goal in one day, Micro.blog has attracted a dedicated following. One of the options available to premium subscribers is to host a podcast. An audio button appears below the post editing window to choose a media file.

Choosing a podcast file to add to a post

Micro.blog sites have a primary RSS feed and a separate podcast feed. The latter contains enclosure elements. Because the Micro.blog editing window does not allow more than one podcast to be added to a post, the RSS item for a post contains only one enclosure:

<item>
  <title>RSS Enclosure Test</title>
  <link>https://rcade.micro.blog/2023/07/02/rss-enclosure-test.html</link>
  <pubDate>Sun, 02 Jul 2023 21:39:52 -0400</pubDate>
  <guid isPermaLink="true">https://rcade.micro.blog/2023/07/02/rss-enclosure-test.html</guid>
  <description><p>I’m trying out Micro.blog’s support for podcasting to see how it handles enclosures in RSS feeds. This MP3 was released by David Byrne under Creative Commons Sampling Plus:</p> <p><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/.">creativecommons.org/licenses/…</a></p> <audio controls="controls" src="https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/67258/2023/my-fair-lady-david-byrne.mp3" preload="metadata"> </description>
  <itunes:subtitle><p>I’m trying out Micro.blog’s support for podcasting to see how it handles enclosures in RSS feeds. This MP3 was released by David Byrne under Creative Commons Sampling Plus:</p> <p><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/.">creativecommons.org/licenses/…</a></p> <audio controls="controls" src="https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/67258/2023/my-fair-lady-david-byrne.mp3" preload="metadata"> </itunes:subtitle>
  <itunes:summary><p>I’m trying out Micro.blog’s support for podcasting to see how it handles enclosures in RSS feeds. This MP3 was released by David Byrne under Creative Commons Sampling Plus:</p> <p><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/sampling+/1.0/.">creativecommons.org/licenses/…</a></p> <audio controls="controls" src="https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/67258/2023/my-fair-lady-david-byrne.mp3" preload="metadata"> </itunes:summary>
  <enclosure url="https://rcade.micro.blog/uploads/2023/my-fair-lady-david-byrne.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" length="3394751"/>  <itunes:duration>212</itunes:duration>
</item>

Micro.blog's commitment to being small extends to podcasts, where its Wavelength app for iPhone can be used to record, edit and publish a short-form podcast.





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  • Ask a Teacher

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The art of determining the right cross-section of low voltage conductors

To be clear at the beginning of this article, determining the cross-section of conductors and cables is, for sure, not the most exciting part of electrical design. There are much more challenging and more exciting parts than staring at endless... Read more

The post The art of determining the right cross-section of low voltage conductors appeared first on EEP - Electrical Engineering Portal.




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Forum Policies- Cross-Forum Posting

Quite a lot of people post the same question in a number of ESL forums. The logic behind doing this is clear- you should be able to access a wider selection fof views and opinions and get better answers. However, things don't always work out the way people think and this process can lead to objections from the people answering.




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A New Kind of Consulting: Restoration CrossCheck LLC

Industry attorney Ed Cross has announced the launch of a new business venture to add to his current list of offerings to restorers.




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Law Offices of Ed Cross Now Serving Restorers in Michigan

The Law Offices of Edward H. Cross adds Michigan attorney, Angela Bajramaj as a partner.




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PuroClean Looks to Expand Its Reach Across Connecticut

PuroClean, a leading franchise in property restoration and remediation, is expanding its footprint in Connecticut. Targeting cities like Hartford and New Haven, PuroClean aims to extend its specialized services in water damage remediation, fire and smoke damage restoration, and mold remediation to new areas.




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PREMIRA® Microfiber Pads

Designed for general cleaning, applying chemical to floors and walls, as well as dust and debris removal, PREMIRA disposable microfiber removes organic and chemical residue that causes failure to pass final clearance.




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Microbial Warrior Academy Conducts Industry First Joint Certification

Students to receive OSHA HAZWOPER and Microbial Warrior Certification in one session. 




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Montréal Exchange brings options trading to university campuses across Canada

04-2014 : Montréal Exchange brings options trading to university campuses across Canada



  • MX Press Releases

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PA Sen. Maria Collett Works Across the Aisle to Get Passage of Human Trafficking Bills

We talked with PA Senator Maria Collett about two bills to combat human trafficking. The PCC supports these measures. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Kt42YCggWSg8cSfu/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/81hHpExotYkCzhXr/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/pwQ7FQ6FNsH9toZA/?mibextid=WC7FNe https://www.facebook.com/share/v/drx1X9Wqukp77EwZ/?mibextid=WC7FNe