Moore's Law

Observed in 1965 by Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, Moore predicted that the number of transistors that could be placed on a silicon chip would continue to double at regular intervals for the foreseeable future. His original prediction had been 12 months. First cited in the 35th anniversary's article in Electronics, Moore explains that integrated circuits refers to "all the various technologies which are referred to as microelectronics today as well as any additional ones that result in electronics functions." Examples include but are not limited to: digital cameras, iPods and other sound devices, computers, watches, security systems, et cetera. The primary goal of the article was to explain that as the integrated circuit technology continued to advance, the cost of acquiring the technology would lessen. This Law is still able to be witnessed. For example, every year, the cost of an Apple computer may appear static, but what you get compared to the previous year is more advanced - more RAM, more memory, smaller laptop or bigger monitor, better Intel chip, et cetera.

In 1975, Moore updated the law - as 12 months was no longer a valid prediction - to state that the transistors per square inch on integrated circuits would double every 24 months. In an interview completed by P2P Consortium in 2005 (the 40th anniversary of the Law), Moore states that Intel is actually ahead of the prediction, doubling in a little under 24 months.

As noted above, the originally stated observation of 12 months, slowed to half after 10 years. While 30 years has demonstrated that 24 months serves as a remarkably stable prediction, I believe this too will slow. Moore himself, expect Moore's Law to hold for at least another two decades.