Praise the transistor!

One of the valuable benefits of being a member (hey, I am a full-member with voting rights!) of Sigma Xi is the magazine--American Scientist. Even though my life now is in the social sciences, this magazine is a wonderful way that I can educate myself--perhaps in a half-baked mode, eh--about a few of the topics in science.

One article there is about the transistor--a review of the past, and what the future might hold. Lots of wonderful observations there. One, even though it might sound trivial, actually speaks volumes about the fantastic transformation of our lives with innovations in the semiconductor field. So, what is that trivial yet profound observation?

The price of integrated circuitry has long been a constant one billion dollars per acre, in spite of the increasing number of transistors on that acre. The current price per transistor on an integrated chip is about 0.002 cents. A staple used for fastening together sheets of paper costs 10 times as much as a transistor.

Awesome, right? Thanks to all those people who toil day in and day out in research labs and chip factories.

BTW, some of the other articles there are equally fascinating:

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge
If you gamble, knowing when to stop to your advantage

Enjoy.