The empirical observation, first stated by Gordon Moore in a 1965 paper, that the number of transistors that can be fit onto an integrated circuit doubles at a roughly regular interval (originally yearly, revised to about every two years in 1975) for similar cost. Not a law of physics but an industry expectation, it nonetheless drove decades of semiconductor investment and became computing's standard shorthand for the rapid growth of raw hardware capability. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core PrincipleTransistor density on an integrated circuit grows exponentially over time at a roughly fixed doubling interval, for roughly constant manufacturing cost, so computing capability per dollar grows exponentially as well. 1 FAQs
Does Moore's law say that computer performance doubles every 18 months?
The 18 month figure comes from a separate prediction by David House of Intel; Moore's law itself concerns transistor count doubling every two years.
No. Moore's law is about transistor count, which Moore's revised forecast had doubling every two years. The 18 month figure is a misquote of a separate prediction by Moore's colleague, Intel executive David House. In 1975 House noted that Moore's revised law of doubling transistor count every two years in turn implied that computer chip performance would roughly double every 18 months, with no increase in power consumption.
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1. Wikipedia: Moore's law
WikipediaLead section
Moore's law is the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years, with minimal increase in cost.
History section
In 1965, Gordon Moore, who at the time was working as the director of research and development at Fairchild Semiconductor, was asked to contribute to the thirty-fifth-anniversary issue of Electronics magazine with a prediction on the future of the semiconductor components industry over the next ten years.
In Group: Laws of Computing, Lead
Moore's law is the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years, with minimal increase in cost.
View the Source Wikipedia: Gordon Moore
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Gordon Moore, Scientific career sectionQuote, Associated With: Gordon Moore, Scientific career section
the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years.
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