On April 19, 1965, the 36-year-old head of R&D at seminal Silicon Valley firm Fairchild Semiconductor published a prediction in a trade magazine, Electronics. The researcher claimed that the number of components—that is, transistors—on a single computer chip would continue to double every year, while the cost per chip would remain constant.

"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," that researcher, Gordon Moore, wrote.

At the time, Moore thought the prediction would hold true for a decade—from 60 components on a single silicon chip to 65,000 by 1975. That year, he revised his forecast down to a doubling every two years. Moore went on to cofound a little company called Intel, which would become the number one semiconductor company in the world. Today, fifty years later, the dictum now famously known as Moore's Law has withstood the test of time.