X

Images: Moore's Law turns 40

Gordon Moore's famous law has been around for four decades. Not bad for an idea he thought wouldn't last.

2 min read

Moore's Law turns 40

Intel co-founder Gordon Moore then...

Credit: Intel

A young Gordon Moore

Moore's Law turns 40

...and now.

Credit: Intel

An older Gordon Moore

Moore's Law turns 40

The sheet of graph paper that shook the world. While writing the article for Electronics Magazine, Moore sketched out his prediction of the pace of silicon technology.

Credit: Intel

The sheet of graph paper that shook the world. While writing the article for Electronics Magazine, Moore sketched out his prediction of the pace of silicon technology.

Moore's Law turns 40

Transistors are go! In the '50s, transistor production was in the millions. In 2003, it hit a quintillion, or a trillion million. Prices have gone the opposite direction; some people estimate that a transistor now costs about the same as one printed newspaper character. And transistors have gone way beyond diminutive. Intel says some are so small that about 200 million could fit on the head of a pin.

Source: VLSI Research, Intel

Chart: Transistors are go! In the '50s, transistor production was in the millions. In 2003, it hit a quintillion, or a trillion million. Prices have gone the opposite direction; some people estimate that a transistor now costs about the same as one printed newspaper character. And transistors have gone way beyond diminutive. Intel says some are so small that about 200 million would fit on the head of a pin.

Moore's Law turns 40

Intel's first microprocessor, the 4004, appeared in 1971 and powered calculators. It featured 2,300 transistors.

Credit: Intel

Intel's first microprocessor, the 4004, appeared in 1971 and powered calculators.

Moore's Law turns 40

The Pentium 4, which debuted in 2000, sported 42 million transistors. Dual-core Itaniums have more than a billion.

Credit: Intel

The Pentium 4, which debuted in 2000.