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Before even discussing the most influential, important developments of the technology age, the simple transistor must claim its rank near the top. Or, more accurately, the incredible shrink-ability of said transistor.

In 1947, the world’s first working example of a transistor, a crude-looking assembly seemingly made up of various bits of wire, assorted spare parts, ample doses of solder, and what looks like an ancient Indian arrowhead, sprang to life in a nondescript room at Bell Labs’ Murray Hill, New Jersey facility. That transistor would evolve – and shrink – quite substantially over the course of the next three decades, and by 1979, Intel engineers had figured a way to incorporate an astounding 29,000 of them into its landmark 8088 processor. But that number positively pales in comparison with today’s Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, which features 10,000 times as many (291 million), and Intel’s upcoming eight-core processors, which will sport an astounding 2.3 billion.  Read more...