QUES: The factory is highly automated and designed to shift flexibly to produce many different kinds of chips to suit demand. "The diversity is the big difference with this plant," said Richard Doherty, president of Envisioneering, a research firm. "It gives IBM the capability to make so many different kinds of custom chips, and the world is going to custom chips." The 140,000-square-foot plant is a testament to advanced manufacturing technology. The 300-millimeter silicon wafers -- about the size of a standard pizza -- are shuttled around the facility in enclosed plastic pods, which ride on overhead tracks. They drop down from wires automatically into machines, sheathed in stainless steel and glass, for each stage of processing and fabrication. Throughout the 500 processing steps, which typically last 20 days, the wafers are not touched by human hands. The circuits etched into the chips are less than one thousandth the width of a human hair. Human operators are there to monitor the systems, catch errors and fine-tune the production process for maximum efficiency. Because each of the hundreds of processing machines is self-enclosed, and essentially airtight, the uniforms operators wear are less constricting than in the previous generation of chip plants, which looked like space suits. The operators at the East Fishkill factory wear light nylon uniforms, light blue shoe coverings and translucent hair nets made of paper. They look more like workers in a bakery. Yes, said Richard Brilla, director of the new facility, "but the donuts are a lot more costly here." Each wafer, holding hundreds of chips, is worth $6,000 to $10,000 apiece, depending on what insulation, circuitry and materials are used.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: What enables IBM to make different kinds of custom chips?

QUES: Independence with Partition: The British began to see India's independence as inevitable; however, only a few seemed to understand the vital role of the religious groups. Britain prepared a parliamentary democracy with majority rule, but the majority were Hindusand Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs had been killing each other in war for many centuries. Nehru's Congress Party, largely Hindu with a socialist leadership, wanted a parliamentary democracy. As counterweight, British legislation reserved parliamentary seats for religious minorities, but the Punjab and Bengal had such a complicated mixture of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs that it was not possible to avoid fights over how separate constituencies were to be formed. The seeds of future trouble were sown. The legislation on reserving seats gave the Muslims the basis for an alternative to an India in which they were only a quarter of the population: Partition. In 1930, the poet Muhammad Iqbal proposed a separate Muslim homeland in the northwest of India. A small group of Indian Muslims at Cambridge came up with the name Pakistan, using the initials of the Punjab, Afghania (N.W. Frontier Province), Kashmir, and Sind (at the same time producing the word pak, meaning "pure"), and adding "stan," the Persian suffix for the word "country. " The Muslim campaign for Partition was led by London-trained Bombay lawyer, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Meanwhile, Gandhi vehemently opposed any dismemberment of the country, and tried to keep people united by fasting to uphold the spirit of love, and by focussing on the common adversary: the British. Advocating civil disobedience, he led his famous Salt March to the sea, to scoop up salt and circumvent the hated British salt tax. This put more than 60,000 in jail. Against this militancy, World War II did not elicit the solidarity of the first. Indians courageously fought alongside the British troops, in Burma, the Middle East, and Europe, but Gandhi saw the British as a provocation for Japanese invasion and was jailed yet again, for launching a "Quit India" campaign in the year 1942. Some anti-British extremists saw the Japanese as an Asian liberator. Winston Churchill didn't want any Indian independence and so it was probably as well for India that he was defeated by Attlee's Labor Party in 1945. With riots growing ever more bloody in Bengal, Bihar, and the Punjab, India's last viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, kept a mandate to make the British departure as quick and as smooth as possible. Quick it wassix months after his arrivalbut not smooth.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: In 1930, the poet Muhammad Iqbal proposed a separate Muslim homeland in the northwest of India. This proposal began the birth of what country?

QUES: Joey got a German Shepherd for his birthday present. He had never had any pets before, but was always excited to see the other dogs and cats in his neighborhood. Since his birthday was in June, he spent a lot of time playing outside with his new puppy, which he named Max. Max and Joey would often run through fields in a game of chase. They also liked to go through the small forest behind the house, making a game of hide and seek. They never went near the lake because Joey was afraid of water. One day, Max hid a little too well and Joey couldn't find him. Joey spent the afternoon looking for his German Shepherd where they often played, like the field and forest. Joey was a shy boy who often read by himself, and Max was his best friend. After dinner, he went to look for Max one last time before he had to take a bath and go to bed. He heard some barking on the next street, so he ran to see if it was his puppy. Sure enough, he saw Max playing with a poodle. The dogs were having so much fun. Joey brought Max home, happy that he had his puppy back. Max seemed to be happy to have his human by his side as well as a new doggy friend. All summer long, Joey took Max to the poodle's house so they could play without having to worry about losing his present.
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION: What are two things Joey and Max liked to do together?

QUES: The properties of matter depend on the types of atoms that matter is made of. Matter can exist in two forms. It can be a pure substance. This means it is not mixed with anything. It can also be a combination of different substances. This means it can be a mix of different types of atoms. You may recall that atoms differ based on the numbers of protons they contain. Some atoms contain only one proton such as Hydrogen. Other atoms contain many protons. There are many types of atoms. For example, Helium has two protons. An Oxygen atom has eight. Water is composed of a two types of atoms. Water is made of two Hydrogen atoms and one Oxygen atoms. There are only so many types of atoms. These atoms can be mixed into an almost limitless amount of substances. So what do we call a substance that has only a single type of atom?
Do you have any questions?
MY QUESTION:
What is contained in water?