"La revolució silenciosa", the technological exhibition on chips, arrives at Can Rajoler where it can be seen during January

The exhibition on technology promoted by the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM, CSIC), La revolució silenciosa, opens at the Centre Cultural Can Rajoler in Parets del Vallès today, Thursday, January 11, and can be seen until January 30. A researcher from IMB-CNM-CSIC will be in charge of introducing it with a talk El cor de la tecnologia: com els xips de silici han transformat el món today at 7 pm.

The exhibition, carried out with the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FECYT), proposes a journey through the history of microelectronics on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the transistor, which was discovered in December 1947, through six panels that explain the design and manufacturing processes of the transistor from its inception to today's digital society. All complemented with materials of the technology developed at the IMB-CNM-CSIC, where you can see silicon stones (base material of the chips) and virgin wafers (the substrate on which chips are manufactured) to manufactured and encapsulated chips.

The exhibition is open during the opening hours of the cultural center.

El cor de la tecnologia: com els xips de silici han transformat el món

Jaume Esteve, researcher at IMB-CNM-CSIC, will be in charge of opening the exhibition with a specialized talk open to all audiences. The scientist will tell his personal story about the revolution that silicon has meant for today's society, since everything around us is electronic.

In addition to the inauguration, the IMB-CNM and Can Rajoler are coordinating guided tours of the exhibition for interested members of the public from local schools.

Un microchip muy grande

The project "Un microxip molt gran" / "Un microchip muy grande" (FCT-21-16975) was organized by the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) with the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science and Innovation (FECYT). The work lasted from the summer of 2022 to September 2023 with the aim of improving the education and generation of scientific vocations among schoolchildren and young non-university students, increasing their learning and interest in electronics and microelectronics. The initiative included different complementary activities: the competition for students "Un microchip muy grande", the main action; a series of conferences on the history and future of technology, with invited and in-house speakers; and the exhibition "La revolució silenciosa", which has been displayed in venues in Barcelona and Vallès.

The initiative celebrates the 75th anniversary of the transistor, a semiconductor electronic device that replaced the bulky and inefficient vacuum valves of the early 20th century. Initially conceived as an analog amplifier device, it was eventually upgraded and its technology adapted as a digital switch, making it the physical embodiment of the 1's and 0's of binary logic.