Moore’s Law summary

As Gordon Moore and Betty Whitaker grew closer, Moore began expanding his horizons. He took his first steps toward formulating Moore's Law at Berkeley University, right across the Bay from his childhood city.

Moore was accepted to Berkeley in 1948, with the help of recommendation letters by professors at San Jose State.

When Gordon Moore began his studies at Caltech, the area was booming. Multiple technological advancements had recently been made. In the 1940s, aerospace science, for instance, depended completely on electronics and IBM's special calculator, Harvard Mark 1, a kind of proto-computer that was used for calculations in missile testing and design.

It was a thrilling environment for Moore. His work in experimental chemistry flourished, particularly under the tutelage of Professor Richard McLean Badger.

In 1947, an important device was invented by scientists at Bell Laboratories: the transistor. Few people (if any) understood its potential at the time, but the invention ended up changing the world completely.

The transistor could be used to amplify and switch signals on and off, just like vacuum tubes. Vacuum tubes were fragile and expensive, however, whereas transistors were made up of solid material. They were also much smaller and required less power. Transistors would soon make an array of new technology possible - most prominently the transistor radio, which was ubiquitous by the 1950s.

Shockley’s apprehension mounted as his team struggled to make a breakthrough. Eventually, feeling that the time had come for something new, Moore and a few dissatisfied colleagues left the company to set up their own. They became known as the “traitorous eight” – and Moore was their leader.

Moore and his new colleagues began searching for an investor and soon found one in Sherman Fairchild, one of IBM's biggest shareholders. Their new venture, Fairchild Semiconductor, was born the same week that the Soviets launched Sputnik, the world's first satellite.

The silicon transistor soon became the industry standard, and its applications became more and more manifold. More computers, radios and television sets were produced as newer models replaced the old ones that’d relied on vacuum tubes. That wasn't all, however. A new and particularly important technology was also emerging: the microchip.

At the end of the 1950s, people still believed it would be too expensive to put several components on one chip, as the advanced technology it required was exorbitantly priced. They assumed it'd always be cheaper to wire individual components together. Moore, however, knew this was wrong.

In 1968, Moore set out on a new adventure that would change computing forever.

Moore and Bob Noyce, his business-savvy partner, were truly the perfect pair – but they needed to find a fresh market. They knew they couldn't compete with the giants in established markets, like Motorola and Bell Labs.

In the early 1970s, the American economy was faltering and unemployment was high. Despite this, Intel's business was booming.

But Moore was about to learn an important lesson: change and innovation are an important part of business, but sometimes you should stick to the things you know you're good at.

By the mid-1970s, Intel had become a hugely profitable company. Moore was right at the heart of a revolution that would forever change computers.

Up until 1979, it was extremely profitable to be in the computer memory industry. Intel's revenue was well over half a billion dollars per year.

By this point, it was clear that computers were rapidly changing the world. And the good news for Moore was that all of them still needed microprocessors!

In fact, in 1990, the average US citizen spent 40 percent of her time looking at screens: watching TV, playing video games or using a computer.