Eulogy for Gordon Moore

 

 Eulogy for Gordon Moore – Cofounder of Intel and the man with a prophetic vision, who passed away on Friday, 23 March 2023.

Observations become prophetc when they possess insightful value and essence. Such profound observations remain memorable when history proves them right. Moore’s Law, published nearly six decades ago in the Electronics magazine, (volume 38, number 8) dated 19 April 1965, as a simple thought by Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, is one such prophetic observation. Moore’s vision about integration, made just four years after the first planar integrated circuit (IC) was discovered, became a reality and remained so for a very long time. His observations published in his 1965 article, which referred to the doubling of transistors on a semiconductor, over the years, have also been applied to other electronic devices like hard drives, computer monitors and other electronic devices, holding that roughly every 18 months, a new generation of products makes their predecessors obsolete.

 Gordon Moore, the man whose prophetic vision came to be referred to as the Moore Law which has shaped the direction of not just the miniaturisation in the chip industry but also impacted the electronics, computers and IT industry, and also the man who co-founded Intel Corporation, one of the leaders in the IT industry and so also the man who along with seven others laid the foundation for the growth of Silicon Valley by founding the revolutionary Fair Child Semi-Conductors company in the valley, passed away on Friday, 24 March 2023, at his home in Hawaii.    

 When Moore published his thoughts in the Electronics magazine in 1965, he had not articulated his ideas as a law; rather he titled his paper “Cramming more components on to integrated circuits”. He wrote, “The future of integrated electronics is the future of electronics itself. The advantages of integration will bring about a proliferation of electronics, pushing this science into many new areas. Integrated circuits will 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”. Today as we pay our respect to the departed soul of Gordon Moore and pray for his soul to rest in peace, we must remind ourselves that his thoughts have continued to shape the modern electronics, communication and information technologies yielding never ending benefits to humankind. Moore was one of the man responsible for the growth of Silicon Valley, which is inextricably linked to Innovation and entrepreneurship and it is/was here that the so called ‘geeks’ work passionately in an informal work culture, alongside their unending and night partying- to give birth to the future.

 The genesis for the raise and raise of a never ending new knowledge culture in the Silicon Valley, where disruptive innovation is a norm, goes back to the decades of the 50s, 60s and 70s of the twentieth century and Gordon Moore was one of the key persons who founded this culture with seven of his colleagues who founded Fair Child Semiconductor company, the torch bearer of most companies and their culture in the Silicon Valley.

 The semiconductor industry which serves as the engine that drives the Silicon Valley that has helped heralding of the Information Revolution, the computers, cell phones, satellites, internet etc. all of which have completely transformed our lives and are collectively leading to the knowledge society and to what is termed the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in a way owes its debt to the likes of Gordon Moore.

 Today as I join million others in paying my respect to Gordon Moore, I am reminded of one of my article “Gordon Moore, His Law, and Integrated Circuits”, which was published in October, 2006, in the Vigyan Prasar magazine, Dream 2047. Fortunately, this issues of the magazine is available for free down load and my article is on page 35. I am sharing the link for those who may be interested in reading.

 https://vigyanprasar.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/English46.pdf

 Rest in peace Gordon Moore

 Image : Courtesy Wikipaedia