Ralph De La Paz


    Gordon Moore is the Co-founder of Intel. Moore predicted the rapid increase of technological innovation. To fully comprehend the principle of Moore's Law, one must understand the components of a microchip. An integrated circuit, or more commonly known as microchip, is basically an electronic circuit. In simpler terms, microchips are what helps electronic devices compute or communicate with the functions of the device. Integrated circuits are classified into 3 different groups. Analog chips are used to process signals. Digital chips are used in microprocessors, which use 1-0 or binary signals to control logic gates and such. Mixed signal chips are used to convert analog signals to digital and vice versa. Integrated circuits are used in virtually all electronic devices today; from calculators, cellphones, and computers. Within these microchips are transistors and these transistors are at the core principle of Moore's Law.

    In the beginning of the computer age, only a small amount of transistors could be used and placed on a chip. Transistors are what a microchip comprises of. A transistor is a semiconductor device used to switch electronic signals and power throughout the microchip. The improvements of the transistor revolutionized the electronics industry. The scale of transistors shrank exponentially as time progressed. This is why it is possible for computers to be so small. Living in a time where small is better, increased density of microchips make it possible to have compact sized computers. One basis to Moore's Law states that the transistor density on microchips of today will continue to increase and nearly double every 24 months.

     Moore's Law predicts the technological advancement of microchips. Basically, the law states that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles every 2 years or less. This law was coined by Gordon Moore in 1965. Since then, microchip density has exponentially grown. The high-tech industry has been making smaller, more powerful, and less expensive microchips. The result is strong, more efficient, and cheaper electronics. This is why you see computers getting cheaper as the increase in power and performance. Televisions are not excluded. Televisions have become larger but cheaper. This is only because people enjoy watching television on a larger scale. Computers back in the day were large and mostly unaffordable for the general public but now there are MP3 players the size of a watch. It is only a matter of time until we have computer technology and capabilities wrapped around our arms as watches. Besides all these beneficial technology, there is both a positive and negative effect on the general consumer today.

    As a result of the continuous advancement of electronics, technology is always becoming obsolete after only a few months. Consumers would then have to buy new equipment every year to keep up with the changing technological times. People will always have to buy new computers to keep up with new and better technology such as: computer graphics and video games. Television technology also keeps improving. Clarity and durability are just a few characteristics of ever improving technology of televisions. Not only has this new technological advancement become a necessity in these modern days but consumers and all general populations have become slaves to this new technology we have grown dependent on. Only time will tell whether we ever hit the peak of the advancement of technology.

References:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit, http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/Moores_Law.html, IMAGE: http://www.public-domain-image.com/objects/computer-chips/slides/computer-chips-circuits-boards.html