True or False

Question

1) Assuming an IC can halve in size every two years, that IC can be about 128 times smaller in just 14 years.

2) Assuming an IC can halve in size every two years, the circuitry in a fingernail-sized IC in a smartphone today could in 14 years fit in an IC smaller than a grain of rice.

Answer 1

1. True: If an integrated circuit (IC) can halve in size every two years, after 14 years (which is 7 two-year periods), the size of the IC would be \( \frac{1}{2^7} = \frac{1}{128} \). Therefore, it would be about 128 times smaller in 14 years.

2. True: If the circuitry in a fingernail-sized IC could be reduced by the same halving principle every two years, after 14 years, it would effectively fit in a size smaller than a grain of rice. A fingernail-sized IC is typically around 1-2 cm², while a grain of rice is roughly about 0.03-0.5 cm long and significantly less volumetrically. Halving in size seven times (as calculated earlier) would indeed allow it to fit in an IC smaller than a grain of rice.