Reference no: EM131088825

Moore's Law and the Future

In this assignment, you will write a paper to identify and discuss the ramifications of Moore's law throughout the history of computing. You will compare and contrast technologies that have met the requirements, but have not been successfully launched and identify potential issues that CPUs may have moving forward to continue meeting the definition of the law. You will research the various processors and select a processor that is best for small devices.

Gordon Moore, the cofounder of Intel-the manufacturer of processors, predicted more than forty years ago that the number of transistors on a processor would double every eighteen months. So far, this theory, known as Moore's law, has been surprisingly accurate. More than once, over the past forty years, experts have believed that the theory had finally broken down-surely, no further improvement to CPUs would be possible, yet processors continue to grow smaller while becoming more powerful.

Tasks:

• Describe the background of CPUs and the path they've taken thus far, as they have advanced from the early days of computing to very tiny, very fast processors in smart devices.
• Provide a visual time line of the advancement of the processing unit over a period of at least thirty years.
• Identify where we are now in the process of the CPU advancement and how it impacts our movement forward.
• Discuss the future of the CPU and identify whether the physical limitations of the CPU will ever prevent further improvements:
  • How small is too small?
  • What new routes do experts think processors will take?
• Identify and describe a hardware technology within the processing unit market that meets the need of being small enough for smart technology but powerful enough to power today's demanding applications.
  • Research the various processors and select which processor is best for small devices.
• Describe any technologies that seemed promising but failed to follow through.

Submission Details:

• Prepare a 6- to 8-page document for your written work. Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources (i.e., use APA format); and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.