This month marks the 50th anniversary of Intel’s first commercially produced microprocessor.
In 1971 Intel’s 4004 microprocessor was around the size of a fingernail, delivering the same computing power as the first electronic computer built in 1946…but that computer filled an entire room!
Now the 4004 microprocessor had a circuit line measuring 10 thousand nanometres but that’s fat compared to the latest intel microprocessors ranging between 45 and 32 nanometres.
How small is that? Well to put it in perspective a human hear is about 100 thousand nanometres wide.
You can read more of the history of Intel’s microprocessors at https://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/history/museum-story-of-intel-4004.html
