• frezik@midwest.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    14
    ·
    1 year ago

    No. If you’re thinking Moore’s Law, all that says is that semiconductors would double their number of transistors every 2 years (or so) for a given price point. This is basically making a really big package while keeping the price the same.

    BTW, that price limit is one that isn’t really talked about, but it’s in Moore’s original paper (unlike things people usually bring up, like clock rates or single threaded speed), and it skewers Moore’s Law dead. If you take the price of the old 8086, adjust for inflation, and double its transistors every 2 years since, there’s nothing that comes close to the numbers you get. IIRC, it’s about an order of magnitude too few transistors for CPUs on offer at that price.

    • Chailles@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I think the point they were wondering was that a larger computer chip doesn’t seem like progress. The overall density of transistors is the same, so how exactly does scaling that up do anything? Or why does using glass make it better?

      Granted, reading the article answers exactly that (though I’ll admit, I don’t entirely understand it). The current material limits how much of the computer chip somehow, this new material allows for more… something.