Moore’s Law Hangs On
Each of the 820 million transistors on Intel’s three-gigahertz quad-core processor is only 45 nanometers across, 30 percent smaller than those on previous commercial chips. Smaller transistors need thinner layers of electrical insulation–or dielectrics–which is hard to acheive with the traditional insulator, silicon dioxide. With its 45-nanometer chips, however, Intel has begun using a new insulator, hafnium oxide. The quad-core processor (shown here) will probably be used in network servers; a smaller, dual-core processor could turn up in high-end desktop computers.

Cost: $999 in quantities of 1,000
Source: www.intel.com/products/processor/core2XE/
Company: Intel
Keep Reading
Most Popular
A Roomba recorded a woman on the toilet. How did screenshots end up on Facebook?
Robot vacuum companies say your images are safe, but a sprawling global supply chain for data from our devices creates risk.
A startup says it’s begun releasing particles into the atmosphere, in an effort to tweak the climate
Make Sunsets is already attempting to earn revenue for geoengineering, a move likely to provoke widespread criticism.
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2023
These exclusive satellite images show that Saudi Arabia’s sci-fi megacity is well underway
Weirdly, any recent work on The Line doesn’t show up on Google Maps. But we got the images anyway.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.