Gordon moore education

Silicon Valley pioneer and philanthropist Gordon Moore has died aged 94 in Hawaii. Mr Moore started working on semiconductors in the s and co-founded the Intel Corporation. He famously predicted that computer processing powers would double every year - later revised to every two - an insight known as Moore's Law. That "law" became the bedrock for the computer processor industry and influenced the PC revolution.

Two decades before the computer revolution began, Moore wrote in a paper that integrated circuits would lead "to such wonders as home computers - or at least terminals connected to a central computer - automatic controls for automobiles, and personal portable communications equipment".

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He observed, in the article, that thanks to technological improvements the number of transistors on microchips had roughly doubled every year since integrated circuits were invented a few years earlier. His prediction that this would continue became known as Moore's Law, and it helped push chipmakers to target their research to make this come true.

After Moore's article was published, memory chips became more efficient and less expensive at an exponential rate. Mr Moore's article contained this cartoon, predicting a time when computers would be sold alongside other consumer goods. After earning his PhD, Moore joined the Fairchild Semiconductor laboratory which manufactured commercially viable transistors and integrated circuits.

The expansion of that company lay the groundwork for the transformation of the peninsula of land south of San Francisco into what is now known as Silicon Valley. Moore's work helped drive significant technological progress around the world and allowed for the advent of personal computers and Apple, Facebook and Google. The Intel Corporation paid tribute to its co-founder, saying in a tweet: , external "we lost a visionary".

This article contains content provided by Twitter. Intel's current CEO Pat Gelsinger said Gordon Moore had defined the technology industry through his insight and vision, and inspired technologists and entrepreneurs across the decades. His memory will live on.