The Advantages of a Microchip
Microchips cannot deal with high voltages and they are not suited for processing analog signals. They exist solely to process information. Fortunately for chip makers, most modern electronics are completely about processing information. Most analog signals are now converted to digital signals so they can be processed by microchips.
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Information
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Information is represented by a series of ons and offs. The amount of on voltage can be enormous or minuscule. It is still ons and offs. Microchips deal with extremely small voltages, and the individual components on a chip can be microscopic because information is information, even if it is expressed in very small units. One immediate advantages of microchips is that they can be very small, and another advantage is that they require little power to operate.
Rugged
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A microchip is a solid piece of silicon in a plastic case. The circuits are drawn on layers of silicon sandwiched between layers of similar material. There are no moving parts and nothing to come loose. They are perfect for devices like phones, PDAs and laptops that might be expected to take a few bumps.
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Inexpensive Fabrication
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The first one costs millions and each one after that cost pennies. The first chip of a new design might be expensive to develop, but once the design is set, they can be stamped out relatively cheaply. The primary component is silicon, which is made from sand. Devices with microchips are inexpensive to assemble because all the electronics are on the chip, so you just plug it in. Old electronic devices required skilled technicians for the assembly process.
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