Taiwan, China, and the Technology Crown

Japan sliced off the memory chip part of Intel's business in the 90s. Two decades later, Taiwan Semiconductor sliced off the cutting edge CPU chips after passing Intel on who could make the most complex chips Apple, Nvidia, Google, Tesla anyone on the cutting edge of technology that needs the frontier of capability no longer look to Intel for elite chips. They looked to Taiwan. Taiwan now, with the crown firmly on, looks across the Taiwan Strait with a new and profound understanding of the famous words Intel's CEO, used to describe the chip business.

Only the paranoid survive. This is the difference between the purity needed for solar panels and silicon wafers. Nine nines versus 11 nines. Those two nines are a major part of the moat between the US, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan on one side, China on the other. There is no black art in nine nine silicon. It is a science limited only by how much electricity you're willing to spend to turn silicon gas into crystals. China won the solar panel wars by deciding it would spend as much electricity as needed, feeding its solar industry free or nearly free electricity so they could make the tiles of nine nine silicon that cover every solar panel cheap enough to undercut rival companies, push the price down low enough, and everyone else will go out of business.

It worked and loathed to be beholden to the current kings of silicon. It is a play. China is without question intent on running again for semiconductors. Once it's figured out The black heart of 11 nine silicon stated by officials outlined in plans. This is no secret. But in a twist of fate from 380 million years ago, regardless of who or what country wears the semiconductor crown, the most advanced piece of engineering humans have ever pulled off will, unless a miracle happens, always be tied to sand pulled out of the mountains around a small town in the United States.