Silicon wafer and screw press: what they have in common

  1. Step 1. Silicon wafer — is material for — Integrated circuit. Chips are made on wafers.
  2. Step 2. Integrated circuit — is part of — Mainframe. The hybrid circuits of the System/360.
  3. Step 3. Mainframe — uses — Punched card. Programs were entered on punched cards.
  4. Step 4. Punched card — is used in — Jacquard loom. Each punched card sets one pass of the pattern.
  5. Step 5. Jacquard loom — works like — Gutenberg printing press. An analogy, not proven influence: both set type and a chain of punched cards are a replaceable pattern that a machine reproduces over and over.
  6. Step 6. Gutenberg printing press — has part — Screw press. Gutenberg adapted the screw press known from pressing grapes.

Open Evothings