The transistor's smaller size, higher reliability, lower power consumption and lower cost revolutionised both the form factor and economics of electronic devices.
Since its invention, the size of transistors has continued to shrink to the point where, today, more than six billion transistors -- about one for every human alive today -- could fit easily in an area the size of a credit card.
The progressive miniaturization of transistors, and their falling costs, has closely followed Moore's Law -- which roughly states that the number of transistors in a chip will double every two years (when produced at lowest cost).
Credit: LSI Corporation
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