Just how clean in a 'Clean Room'?

[Rob Williams]

I always knew that these rooms were extremely clean, but this flash video made me realize just how clean.

http://www.appliedmaterials.com/HCiC/animated.html

[Jakal]

Wow! I never knew how much detail goes into those rooms. It's good to know the extreme care companies take to provide the quality of product.

[madmat]

Yep. They're even talking about making stuff in space since they can work in a vacuum.

[Rob Williams]

Or they could just save money and contact Hoover.

[madmat]

I think you're missing the point, in space it's the hardest vacuum you can pull so for ICs you'll be assured of minimal impurities...

[madstork91]

I know you'd like to buy into the crappy scifi pre 21st century and the archaix teachings of your preschool teacher, but the simple truth is space isnt as "empty" as you might think. It's definatly a hell of alot more empty than inside of our atmosphere, but the truth is that there are particles floating around in space, and that man has been actually adding to these particles by releasing debri into orbital paths around earth. One of the biggest problems with satelites in years of late is actualy debri hitting them from previous space voyages.

In short... is space a natural clean room? Yes! Is it completely clean? Far from it. Something to also consider is that outside the earth's atmosphere, anything is subject to rays of energy that would otherwise be bounced off the atmosphere. A sensitive material might not hold up so well.

[madmat]

If you put a filtered box in a hard vacuum then it's going to be clean inside that box, now, isn't it? Or did you assume that they were just going to set up a big "floor" floating free without the benefit of walls or shielding or anything like that?

The fact remains that electronics companies would dearly love to put production facilities in orbit.

[madstork91]

hmm maybe... wanna cough up the $ for R&D?

[madmat]

No but I'll gladly do the R&D if they pay for it...

[T-Shirt]

Yep. They're even talking about making stuff in space since they can work in a vacuum.
It's not due to the vacuum that they want to build item in space (a cleaner, more pure vacuum is possible in lab, than near earth orbit) but because materials behave differently in zero G, particularly crystals.
being able to "grow" very large, very consistant doped silcion crystals is the basis of the entire processor/electronics industryand the smaller things get the harder it is, in earth gravity.

[madscientist327]

That flash movie has got to be the most boring thing ever.

[madmat]

It's not due to the vacuum that they want to build item in space (a cleaner, more pure vacuum is possible in lab, than near earth orbit) but because materials behave differently in zero G, particularly crystals.
being able to "grow" very large, very consistant doped silcion crystals is the basis of the entire processor/electronics industryand the smaller things get the harder it is, in earth gravity.

Funny, the quote I'd read from Pioneer said it was because they would be able to acheive a harder vacuum in space (ya know since it's nearly a complete vacuum and all) but I guess they were just BSing after all...

[madmat]

I finally remembered what one of the things they were wanting to make was, lasers. Those and ICs.