Hi Class,
Have you heard of Moore's Law? Is it no longer valid?
Yes, I have heard of Moore's Law. Moore's Law is an observation made by Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, in 1965. It states that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles approximately every two years, while the cost per transistor is halved.
While Moore's Law has been remarkably accurate for several decades, there has been debate in recent years about its continued validity. Here are a few factors to consider:
1. Physical limitations: As transistor sizes approach atomic scales, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the same rate of miniaturization. The physical limits of materials and manufacturing techniques pose challenges to continue the trend of doubling transistor count.
2. Economic feasibility: The cost of developing and producing new technology nodes has been increasing significantly. It is becoming more expensive to achieve further miniaturization, making it economically challenging to maintain the same pace as before.
3. Technological advancements: While Moore's Law primarily focused on the increase in transistor count, technological advancements have allowed for alternative methods of improving computing power. For example, innovations in parallel processing, specialized chips, and new architectures have helped overcome the limitations imposed by miniaturization.
4. Evolution of Moore's Law: Some argue that Moore's Law has evolved beyond transistor count and now encompasses other aspects, such as improvements in performance, power efficiency, and integration of different technologies.
Overall, while the original formulation of Moore's Law may be reaching its limits, the concept of
continual advancements in technology and computing power still holds true. The pace and nature
of these advancements, however, are changing. Researchers and engineers are exploring new approaches to continue improving computing capabilities, even as traditional transistor scaling becomes more challenging.
Tardi, C. (2023, March 22).
What is Moore’s law and is it still true?
Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mooreslaw.asp
