A microchip is a tiny piece of silicon, smaller than your fingernail, that contains millions of microscopic electronic circuits. These circuits work together to process information, store data, or control other devices. You might also hear people call them chips, computer chips, or integrated circuits.

Microchips are the brains inside almost every electronic device you use: computers, phones, tablets, game consoles, cars, and even some refrigerators and toys. When you press a button on your calculator, microchips instantly perform the math. When you play a video game, multiple microchips work together to create the graphics, sound, and gameplay.

The invention of the microchip in 1958 changed human civilization. Before microchips, computers were enormous machines that filled entire rooms and could barely do what a modern phone can do in a second. Microchips made it possible to pack incredible computing power into devices small enough to hold in your hand.

Making microchips requires extremely precise manufacturing. Engineers design intricate patterns of circuits, then use special machines to etch those patterns onto silicon wafers thinner than paper. A single speck of dust can ruin a chip, so factories keep their rooms cleaner than hospital operating rooms. The most advanced microchips today contain tens of billions of transistors, each one thousands of times smaller than a human hair.