See Also: Microprocessor
The density of Semiconductor devices (and thus the processing power of the Microprocessor, etc.) doubles roughly every 18 months.
In 1965, three years before he helped co-found Intel - Gordon Moore wrote an
article for the 35th anniversary of Electronics Magazine. His assignment was to predict what he thought was going to happen in the
semiconductor components industry in the ten years through 1975. The article he
submitted postulated a theory that has been generally known ever since as Moore’s Law. Moore calculated this increase by plotting component density - Transistors, Resistors, Diodes, or Capacitors - over Time as process technology improved and cost per circuit was driven down. As the
years have born out, his prediction has proved remarkably accurate. In the
two-and-a-half decades (1971 - 1996) that have passed since Intel introduced the
world’s first commercial microprocessor the number of transistors contained on a
single chip has followed the line that Moore plotted by increasing more than 2,300
times (This information was provided by Intel and it is not quite exact.
Dividing 25 years by 18 months is 16.66. 2 to the 16.66 power is 104,034 -
significantly greater than 2,300).