Silicon Earth

by John D. Cressler

We are in the swirling center of the most life-changing technological revolution the Earth has ever known. In only 60 years, an eye-blink of human history, a single technological invention has launched the proverbial thousand ships, producing the most sweeping and pervasive set of changes ever to wash over humankind; changes that are reshaping the very core of human existence, on a global scale, at a relentlessly accelerating pace. And we are just at the very beginning. Silicon Earth introduces readers with little or no background to the many marvels of microelectronics and nanotechnology, using easy, non-intimidating language, with an intuitive approach using minimal math. The general scientific and engineering underpinnings of microelectronics and nanotechnology are addressed, as well as how this new technological revolution is transforming a broad array of interdisciplinary fields, and civilization as a whole. Special widget deconstruction chapters address the inner workings of ubiquitous micro/nano-enabled pieces of technology such as cell phones, flash drives, GPS, DVDs, and digital cameras.

524 pages, Paperback

First published August 17, 2009

About the author

John D. Cressler is a historical novelist and professor at Georgia Tech. He has published five non-fiction books (two for general audiences), but his real passion is historical fiction and he is obsessed with the rediscovery of “la convivencia” (peaceful coexistence of Christians, Muslims and Jews) in medieval Muslim Spain. "Emeralds of the Alhambra," an interfaith love story set in 14th century Granada, was his debut novel (released June 2013 by Sunbury Press), and the first book in the "Anthems of al-Andalus" series. Book two in the series, "Shadows in the Shining City," was released July 2014. Book three in the series, "Fortune's Lament," set in Granada at the fall of the sultanate in 1492 was released in April 2018. Book four, "Merchants of Iniquity," the final book in the series and a sequel to "Fortunes" was release May of 2024.