Die (integrated circuit)
A die in the context of integrated circuits is a small block of semiconducting material, on which a given functional circuit is fabricated. Typically, integrated circuits are produced in large batches on a single wafer of electronic-grade silicon (EGS) or other semiconductor (such as GaAs) through processes such as photolithography. The wafer is cut (“diced”) into many pieces, each containing one copy of the circuit. Each of these pieces is called a die.
There are three commonly used plural forms: dice, dies, and die.
Images
Single NPN bipolar junction transistor die.
Single NPN bipolar junction transistor die.
Close-up of an RGB light-emitting diode, showing the three individual silicon dice.
Close-up of an RGB light-emitting diode, showing the three individual silicon dice.
A small-scale integrated circuit die, with bond wires attached.
A small-scale integrated circuit die, with bond wires attached.
A VLSI integrated-circuit die.
A VLSI integrated-circuit die.
Die (manufacturing)
A die is a specialized tool used in manufacturing industries to cut or shape material mostly using a press. Like molds, dies are generally customized to the item they are used to create. Products made with dies range from simple paper clips to complex pieces used in advanced technology.
Die forming
Forming dies are typically made by tool and die makers and put into production after mounting into a press. The die is a metal block that is used for forming materials like sheet metal and plastic. For the vacuum forming of plastic sheet only a single form is used, typically to form transparent plastic containers (called blister packs) for merchandise. Vacuum forming is considered a simple molding thermoforming process but uses the same principles as die forming. For the forming of sheet metal, such as automobile body parts, two parts may be used: one, called the punch, performs the stretching, bending, and/or blanking operation, while another part, called the die block, securely clamps the workpiece and provides similar stretching, bending, and/or blanking operation. The workpiece may pass through several stages using different tools or operations to obtain the final form. In the case of an automotive component there will usually be a shearing operation after the main forming is done and then additional crimping or rolling operations to ensure that all sharp edges are hidden and to add rigidity to the panel.
Die, Drôme
Die (French pronunciation: [di]; Occitan: Diá [ˈdjɔ]) is a commune, former episcopal see, and subprefecture of the Drôme department in southeastern France. The region around Die is known as the Diois.
Die is best known for the Clairette de Die, a sparkling wine. It was a county in the High Middle Ages. It was once the see of a Roman Catholic diocese and its cathedral remains.
Geography
Die is situated in a valley, surrounded by the Glandasse mountain (6696 feet), a massive and steep rocky barrier, which separates the area (Pays Diois) from the Vercors Plateau. The territory of the commune of Die is part of the regional natural park of these regions.
History
Clearly, there were inhabitants during the Neolithic age, this has been confirmed by Chanqueyras excavations. A big engraved standing stone and two small menhirs that are now in the Die museum were found near the wine cooperative, (these) also proved inhabitation in this area at that time. The remains of the final Bronze Age were discovered at La Roche De Marginal, for example, some shards have been found at Chandillon. A first agglomeration seems to have appeared at the beginning of the roman era, on a little mountain pass overhanging the Drôme, and the small valley of Meyrosse, at the crossroad between the valley and the path to Trièves. Lots of clues show the extension of urbanisation during the 1st century. At the beginning of the 2nd century, the city of Die constructs monuments and becomes a Roman capital, replacing Luc-en-Diois in that function for the Celtic people of northern Voconces. It seems it will be named as a colony towards the end of the 2nd century or during the 3rd century because the town became an important centre of fertility goddess Cybele’s cult.
Question!
"Question!" is a song by Armenian American rock band System of a Down, released as the second single of their fourth album Mezmerize. The song was premiered on Los Angeles, California radio station KROQ-FM on May 23, 2005 and was released to alternative and rock radio stations on July 12 of the same year.
The song is sometimes compared to one of System of a Down's other songs "Aerials", which also deals with the nature of life in the lyrics. Both are primarily sung by Serj Tankian and have Daron Malakian as back-up in the chorus.
Music video
The video was released on August 5, 2005 on MTV and the band's website. The opening scene is of a boy with gray hair, clothes, and skin shooting a red bird with a slingshot, which coincides with the start of the song. At this point the video switches to a scene of the band members on a theater stage, performing music for a play. The play is based on a theme of life, death, and reincarnation, revolving around two lovers, a man in a dark suit and a woman in a red dress, who are shown both as children and adults. As the music reaches its climax, the woman collapses after eating a red berry and the man screams in grief. The video closes with an intense scene of a woman giving birth followed by a shot of a newborn baby wrapped in red cloth. The color red is central to the video, tying together the bird, the girl, the woman, and the baby in a cycle of rebirth.
Question
A question is a linguistic expression used to make a request for information, or the request made using such an expression. The information requested should be provided in the form of an answer.
Questions have developed a range of uses that go beyond the simple eliciting of information from another party. Rhetorical questions, for example, are used to make a point, and are not expected to be answered. Many languages have special grammatical forms for questions (for example, in the English sentence "Are you happy?", the inversion of the subject you and the verb are shows it to be a question rather than a statement). However questions can also be asked without using these interrogative grammatical structures – for example one may use an imperative, as in "Tell me your name".
Uses
The principal use of questions is to elicit information from the person being addressed, by indicating, more or less precisely, the information which the speaker (or writer) desires. However questions can also be used for a number of other purposes. Questions may be asked for the purpose of testing someone's knowledge, as in a quiz or examination. Raising a question may guide the questioner along an avenue of research (see Socratic method).
Question (short story)
"Question" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the March 1955 issue of Computers and Automation (thought to be the first computer magazine), and was reprinted in the April 30, 1957, issue of Science World. It is the first of a loosely connected series of stories concerning a fictional supercomputer called Multivac.
The story concerns two technicians who are servicing Multivac, and their argument over whether or not the machine is truly intelligent and able to think. Multivac, however, supplies the answer on its own.
After the reprint, another author, Robert Sherman Townes, noticed the climax in the last sentence was very similar to one of his own stories, "Problem for Emmy" (Startling Stories, June 1952), and wrote to Asimov about it. After searching in his library, Asimov did find the original story and, although he did not recall having read it, admitted that the endings were pretty similar. He then replied to Townes, apologizing and promising the story would never again be published, and it never was. Asimov mentioned "Question" in an editorial called "Plagiarism" which appeared in the August 1985 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction (although he did not mention Townes' name or the title of either story). "Plagiarism" was reprinted in Asimov's collection Gold (1995).
Going-to future
The going-to future is a grammatical construction used in English to refer to various types of future occurrences. It is made using appropriate forms of the expression to be going to. It is an alternative to other ways of referring to the future in English, such as the future construction formed with will (or shall) – in some contexts the different constructions are interchangeable, while in others they carry somewhat different implications.
Constructions analogous to the English going-to future are found in some other languages, including French and Spanish.
Origin
The going-to future originated by the extension of the spatial sense of the verb go to a temporal sense (a common change, the same phenomenon can be seen in the preposition before). The original construction involved physical movement with an intention, such as "I am going [outside] to harvest the crop." The location later became unnecessary, and the expression was reinterpreted to represent a near future.
The colloquial form gonna and the other variations of it as mentioned in the following section result from a relaxed pronunciation of going to. They can provide a distinction between the spatial and temporal senses of the expression: "I'm gonna swim" clearly carries the temporal meaning of futurity, as opposed to the spatial meaning of "I'm going [in order] to swim".
