IMPACT OF MICROELECTRONICS.

Over the last 20 years the development of microelectronics has taken enormous strides, both in technology and in applications to equipment. In conventional computer terms it now offers as much processing power on one or two chips as could be provided 20 years ago by a room full of apparatus, consuming kilowatts of power. It is now being argued that future development will be less rapid and that the authors have reached a plateau in our progress. This article attempts to forecast what will happen: far from having reached a plateau, there are signs that the rate of change of technology is increasing.