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Moore's Law Is Dead
BI ^ | 6-29-2014 | Ray Blanco

Posted on 06/29/2015 3:13:25 PM PDT by blam

Ray Blanco, The Daily Reckoning
June 29, 2015

Do you like your iPhone? Today, you are walking with the equivalent of what was supercomputer not too long ago — in your pocket.

The foundation for the modern semiconductor industry got its start in the late 1940s and 1950s. Electronics up until then were dependent on vacuum tubes. These weren’t, to say the least, very easy to miniaturize. But we did try to use them.

In 1946, the U.S. government built the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was called ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) and contained over 17,000 vacuum tubes, along with an additional 90,000 bulky components. It was enormous. Something better was obviously needed for computers to become practical.

That began to happen in 1947 when engineers at Bell Labs invented the transistor.

These components could replace vacuum tubes. They could also be made much smaller. Things started changing fast. By 1954, Texas Instruments was selling them.

Then, in 1958, Texas Instruments engineer Jack Kilby (who would go on to win the Nobel Prize) invented a way to put multiple transistors on a single piece of material. He used a chip made out of germanium for its semiconducting properties. Some of the greatest inventions in history sure didn’t look that way at the start. In fact, at times, they were downright ugly. However, this ugly duckling was the world’s first integrated circuit:

Not long after, Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor found a better way to build an integrated circuit using a silicon chip. His invention was so important, we have geography named after it. It was the beginning of a big industry that specialized in making things smaller. And they did get smaller, regularly.

(snip)

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: authorisbraindead; chips; circuits; fairchildsemi; ic; intel; jackkilby; moore; mooreslaw; nationalsemi; robertnoyce; texasinstruments
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To: norwaypinesavage

Not according to Defoe...


21 posted on 06/29/2015 4:52:16 PM PDT by null and void (What's the bigger danger: the Confederate flag, or the false flag?)
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To: blam

blam

I was working that day in the South Building.

And I’m working today in the organization called SVA, or what used to be known as National Semiconductor.


22 posted on 06/29/2015 5:09:35 PM PDT by AlmaKing
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To: blam
Gotten to the point that I hope Moores Law stops.

AI is around the corner, Super AI happens months after that, humans stop existing hours after that.

23 posted on 06/29/2015 5:11:36 PM PDT by Lazamataz (The new GOP slogan: "Vote for us!!! We are exactly the same as the Democrats !!!")
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To: DiogenesLamp
"Do you suppose such a thing could be done by an amateur? "

No.

24 posted on 06/29/2015 5:25:40 PM PDT by blam (Jeff Sessions For President)
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To: DiogenesLamp
"Tough argument to refute. I'm assuming they are including Jewish contributions as "White." Pound for pound, Jews punch way out of their weight class in Science and Inventions. "

They should, they're the highest IQ group of people in the world.

The Ashkenazi Jews are the highest amoungst the Jews. Eighty percent of the Jewish immigrants to this country are Ashkenazi Jews.

25 posted on 06/29/2015 5:29:19 PM PDT by blam (Jeff Sessions For President)
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To: blam
No.

Rather succinct. I was hoping for a bit more elaboration. I wasn't talking about building million transistor devices, I was thinking something more along the lines of devices with 20 or so.

Simple gate circuits, individual transistors and such.

But i'll take your word for it. I have plenty too many projects I have to work on already.

26 posted on 06/29/2015 5:34:46 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp
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To: blam
They should, they're the highest IQ group of people in the world.

The Ashkenazi Jews are the highest amoungst the Jews.

I knew that.

Eighty percent of the Jewish immigrants to this country are Ashkenazi Jews.

I did not know that.

27 posted on 06/29/2015 5:38:13 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp
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To: AlmaKing
"I was working that day in the South Building."

There was one building then on San Ysidro. I was told I was employee #54. No badges or company ID...everyone knew everyone else.

28 posted on 06/29/2015 5:40:21 PM PDT by blam (Jeff Sessions For President)
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To: DiogenesLamp
"Rather succinct. I was hoping for a bit more elaboration."

Sorry

Years ago I considered starting something like the JC Whitney of chips.

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment becomes obsolete very fast and there is always an abundance of old equipment available.
My intent was to build old chips on old equipment, cheaply because there was a time (maybe still so) when people were throwing away good equipment because the chip for it was no longer available.

Frankly, there was just no time...I was always 'running' just to keep up with the fast pace. One morning I woke up and I was old, LOL.

Maybe you could use that idea and build some old chips, eh?

29 posted on 06/29/2015 5:49:34 PM PDT by blam (Jeff Sessions For President)
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To: blam
Maybe you could use that idea and build some old chips, eh?

That's an idea. I have no delusions about building fancy microprocessors, but gates, op-amps and transistors might be doable. Where might I find some of this equipment and what sort of costs are we looking at?

I am currently in the mood to spend some money if the purpose is sufficiently worthwhile.

30 posted on 06/29/2015 6:11:55 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp
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To: DiogenesLamp

That’s good stuff. I shall bookmark it, and post it anytime I see an idiot bemoaning white guilt, which I always interpret as white competence, BTW.


31 posted on 06/29/2015 6:18:11 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: cicero2k

A rogue, even. No makeup required.


32 posted on 06/29/2015 6:20:02 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: DiogenesLamp
"Where might I find some of this equipment and what sort of costs are we looking at?

Here?
(I haven't been there in over 20 years)

33 posted on 06/29/2015 6:22:22 PM PDT by blam (Jeff Sessions For President)
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To: FreedomPoster
That’s good stuff. I shall bookmark it, and post it anytime I see an idiot bemoaning white guilt, which I always interpret as white competence, BTW.

They taunt "white men" because they are such a strong force to be reckoned with. I really do not think this game is going to work out for them so well as they think it will.

34 posted on 06/29/2015 6:24:19 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp
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To: blam
Here? (I haven't been there in over 20 years)

Wow. That's cool. I'm going to look through their stuff and see what they've got. So far I don't see any prices though.

35 posted on 06/29/2015 6:28:12 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp
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To: blam
You might want to look into PAL. Programmable Array Logic chaps can be made to do (emulate?) all sorts of circuits. If I recall properly somebody built an Amiga 500 on a joystick using PAL and it sold for about $20.
36 posted on 06/29/2015 7:01:46 PM PDT by ADemocratNoMore (Jeepers, Freepers, where'd 'ya get those sleepers?. Pj people, exposing old media's lies.)
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To: blam
To follow my last post, the lady's name is Jeri Ellsworth. Check out some of the links on her wiki page, she has written on home brew semiconductors and ic’s. Also, the machine in question was a c64, built using FPGA’s.
37 posted on 06/29/2015 7:17:26 PM PDT by ADemocratNoMore (Jeepers, Freepers, where'd 'ya get those sleepers?. Pj people, exposing old media's lies.)
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To: blam

A scanning electron microscope could come in handy.


38 posted on 06/29/2015 7:37:27 PM PDT by oblomov
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To: Lazamataz

Humans don’t stop existing...our new robotic overlords are going to need pets.


39 posted on 06/29/2015 9:35:06 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not, no explanation is possible)
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To: Lazamataz

After the events of last week, who needs humans any more, I ask?!


40 posted on 06/29/2015 9:47:55 PM PDT by Ventilator on
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