A Navajo weaving of an integrated circuit: the 555 timer

The noted Diné (Navajo) weaver Marilou Schultz recently completed an intricate weaving composed of thick white lines on a black background, punctuated with reddish-orange diamonds. Although this striking rug may appear abstract, it shows the internal circuitry of a tiny silicon chip known as the 555 timer. This chip has hundreds of applications in everything from a sound generator to a windshield wiper controller. At one point, the 555 was the world's best-selling integrated circuit with billion...