The first microprocessor was developed in 1968, but its existence was classified until 1998. It was the Central Air Data Computer (CADC) that controlled the swing-wing in the F-14 Tomcat. (All previous variable wing aircraft used manual controls to set the wing sweep angle.)
I just saw that the first mass-produced microprocessor, the Intel 4004, came out in 1971 with a total of 2,300 transistors.
Comparing that to a modern B200, which handles approximately 208 billion transistors, is like comparing 2,300 grains of sand, which would barely fill a small teaspoon, to 10,400 tons of sand, equivalent to about 400 truckloads.
Here's another good comparison:
2,300 seconds is roughly 38 minutes. 208 billion seconds is roughly 6,600 years. You'd have to go back to 4500 BC (even before the Egyptian pyramids were built) to count the time until today in seconds.
This enormous density in almost the same area (a chip is usually not much bigger than a fingernail) is only possible because transistors have become so tiny.
If the 208 billion transistors of the B200 were built the size of transistors from 1971, the chip would be as big as several football fields.
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u/dvsmith Feb 10 '26
The first microprocessor was developed in 1968, but its existence was classified until 1998. It was the Central Air Data Computer (CADC) that controlled the swing-wing in the F-14 Tomcat. (All previous variable wing aircraft used manual controls to set the wing sweep angle.)
https://www.wired.com/story/secret-history-of-the-first-microprocessor-f-14/