Chip Researchers on Brink of Next-Gen Breakthroughs

Moore's law, the famous axiom by which the computer industry has measured performance and price, has been considered to be in long-term danger for quite some time. At some point, experts say, creating a new generation of transistors that double performance in the same amount of space will become physically impossible. That day has yet to arrive, however, and a spate of recent announcements and research papers suggests that it might continue receding into some farther future. Recent announcements from two major chip manufacturers, Intel and IBM, underscore the nebulous situation surrounding the "someday" warnings and the continual march of competing R&D efforts