Manufacturing Products in Profusion and Enabling Information Technology - Empowering Moore's Law: Difference between pages

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Chemical engineers improve the processes that make mass production possible. They play a pivotal role in the diversity and distinctive properties of consumer products, and the quantities that factories are able to produce as well as the costs and values of the starting materials and final products.
Based on the insight of Intel co-founder [http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/microelectronics-and-nanotechnology/moore.aspx Gordon E. Moore], Moore’s Law describes the exponentially advancing technology of the past half-century, specifically illustrated by the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit board a quantity that doubles approximately every two years. Personal computing, in its various forms, has become the ubiquitous representation of digital technology’s penetration into every facet of our existence.<br>
 
Some believe that Moore’s Law is finally approaching its limit, but the law is evident in the capacity of our digital electronic devices, from laptop processing speed to the number of pixels in digital cameras.


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'''1915 '''— Highly heat- and corrosion-resistant lead-free borosilicate glass is introduced as [http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/thanks-to-chemistry/ttc-food-pyrex.aspx Pyrex]. The name may have been derived from the Greek “pyra” (hearth). Corning Glass Works (now Corning Inc.) used advertising to educate consumers about the benefits of cooking with glass. (Corning Glass)
'''1950s '''— Ferrous-oxide-coated magnetic tape (0.5 in. wide by 1,200/2,400 ft. long) becomes the ''de facto'' standard for com­puters. In the 1980s, thinner Mylar film would allow for 3,600-ft. long tapes.
 
IBM’s tape drive vacuum column paved the way for magnetic tape to become a popular storage medium. Prior to the vacuum column, fragile magnetic tape was plagued by breakages as it was subjected to sudden starts and stops. IBM devised a solution where the tape was held down by a vacuum during these rapid accelerations and decelerations. Its use in the IBM 701 signaled the beginning of the era of magnetic storage, for its buffering technique would become widely adopted throughout the industry. (IBM)


'''1916 '''— Weitzman acetone-butanol fermentation with clostridium acetobutyicum is used to make smokeless gunpowder. Unwanted butanol is later used as automobile lacquer. This development signaled the beginning of large biotechnological processing. (Strange and Graham, Ltd.)
'''1967 '''— The first multi-level computer control system capable of selecting its operating parameters achieves a refinery’s targeted fluid catalytic cracking performance. (IBM; Esso Research and Engineering)


'''1920 '''— Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) is the first commercial petrochemical — made from propylene by indirect hydration in sulfuric acid. (Standard Oil of New Jersey)
'''1968 '''— Solid photoresists and dry polymeric light-resistant films are produced, allowing for precise and convenient reproduction of intricate circuitry. (E. I. DuPont)


'''1924 '''—Introduction of stainless steel allowed production of nitric acid at high pressure for use in manufacturing agricultural fertilizers, dye-stuffs and explosives. (E. I. DuPont)
'''1970s '''— Silicon microchips are mass-produced; devices are nanofabricated using single ultra-pure-silicon crystals cut from 8-in.- diameter by 5-ft.-long wafers (2000s). (AT&amp;T; Texas Instruments)


'''1926 '''— Chromium plating is invented to protect iron and steel products, such as automobile bumpers, against rust. (Columbia Univ. (Colin Fink))
'''1972 '''— Urban gaseous and particulate pollutants are successfully modeled. The models would evolve to include photochemical ozone from automobile exhausts. (California Institute of Technology)


'''1927 '''— First fractionating bubble tower is introduced, supplanting inexpensive but lower-capacity and less-efficient packed columns (which were introduced in 1889). (Standard Oil Development)
'''1973 '''— Robust glass optical fibers are developed. By 1986, erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier would significantly reduce the need for optical-electrical-optical repeaters. (Bell Laboratories)


'''1931''' — Beginning of tungsten powder metallurgy: ductile tungsten for incandescent lamp filaments is produced by doping tungsten oxide before its reduction. (Columbia Univ.)
'''1976 '''— Thin-film liquid crystal displays with picture elements driven by their own individual transistors enter the television and other mass markets. (RCA Corporation)


'''1934 '''— First plant capable of extracting 67-ppm bromine from seawater starts up in North Carolina. Bromine, as ethylene dibromide, is used to scavenge lead oxide deposits produced in automobile engines from tetraethyl lead (TEL) added to increase octane number. (Dow Chemical)
'''1977 '''— Increased disk storage mandates the use of lithographic techniques to make magnetic heads for reading and recording data. (U.S. Philips Corp.)


'''1941 '''— Steam cracking is commercialized, and allowed for production of a wide range of chemical feedstocks from ethane, propane and other petro­leum naphthas. (Standard Oil Development)
'''1981 '''— Advanced System for Process Engineering (ASPEN) is commercialized. ASPEN-developed software models and analyzes integrated processes from detailed design elements to their costs. (MIT Energy Lab / U.S. Dept. of Energy [DOE] funding [1976–1981])


'''1946 '''— First low-sudsing washing machine detergent, ALL, is produced; a key ingredient was ethylene oxide adduct. (Monsanto)  
'''1981''' — First commercial PC-based process simulation software is developed (HYSIM). (Hyprotech)


'''1955 '''— Industrial synthetic diamonds are pro­duced at 6 to 18 GPa and 5,000°C, from graphite dissolved in a molten nickel, cobalt or iron catalyst. (General Electric)
'''1989 '''— Silicon germanium (SiGe) chip, with germanium included in the base layer of silicon chips, are commercialized, allowing for faster performance at lower cost. (IBM)


'''1959 '''— First synthetic molecular sieve zeolite (Zeolite A) is commercialized to absorb oxygen. (Union Carbide)
'''1992 '''— Aluminum oxide and molybdenum or tungsten for interconnecting computer chips is supplanted by fewer, smaller and faster cordierite glass-ceramic and copper layers. (IBM)


'''late 1960s '''— Kevlar ballistic fabric is developed for use as body armor; it was originally intended to be steel belting in tires. Nylon had been used in WWII flak jackets. (E. I. DuPont)
'''1998 '''— Fast, relatively inexpensive microfluidic devices are produced using soft lithography (rapid prototyping and replica molding) in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). (Harvard Univ.)


'''1961 '''— First disposable paper diaper (creped tissue in rayon/plastic liners) is developed; hydrogel-forming polymers would later provide magnitudes greater absorption (1972). (Procter &amp; Gamble; Kimberly-Clark)
'''2000 '''— Integrated chips having 20 layers of semicon­ductor, dielectric, and conducting films, with individual features of 0.5 µm, are developed. (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.)


'''2004 '''— Enhanced morphyline extractive distillation is used to recover high- purity benzene from close-boiling nonaromatics; distillation alone requires too many separate stages and excessive liquid recycle. Benzene is used to make ethylbenzene — a styrene precursor. (Maxygen; DSM)<br>
'''2003 '''— Full economic potential for process intensification — integrating multiple operations into a single unit — is achieved with model-predictive-controlled divided-wall columns. (BASF)<br>


[[Category:Materials]]
[[Category:Computing_and_electronics]]
[[Category:Chemicals]]

Latest revision as of 14:37, 6 January 2015

Based on the insight of Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore, Moore’s Law describes the exponentially advancing technology of the past half-century, specifically illustrated by the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit board — a quantity that doubles approximately every two years. Personal computing, in its various forms, has become the ubiquitous representation of digital technology’s penetration into every facet of our existence.

Some believe that Moore’s Law is finally approaching its limit, but the law is evident in the capacity of our digital electronic devices, from laptop processing speed to the number of pixels in digital cameras.


1950s — Ferrous-oxide-coated magnetic tape (0.5 in. wide by 1,200/2,400 ft. long) becomes the de facto standard for com­puters. In the 1980s, thinner Mylar film would allow for 3,600-ft. long tapes.

IBM’s tape drive vacuum column paved the way for magnetic tape to become a popular storage medium. Prior to the vacuum column, fragile magnetic tape was plagued by breakages as it was subjected to sudden starts and stops. IBM devised a solution where the tape was held down by a vacuum during these rapid accelerations and decelerations. Its use in the IBM 701 signaled the beginning of the era of magnetic storage, for its buffering technique would become widely adopted throughout the industry. (IBM)

1967 — The first multi-level computer control system capable of selecting its operating parameters achieves a refinery’s targeted fluid catalytic cracking performance. (IBM; Esso Research and Engineering)

1968 — Solid photoresists and dry polymeric light-resistant films are produced, allowing for precise and convenient reproduction of intricate circuitry. (E. I. DuPont)

1970s — Silicon microchips are mass-produced; devices are nanofabricated using single ultra-pure-silicon crystals cut from 8-in.- diameter by 5-ft.-long wafers (2000s). (AT&T; Texas Instruments)

1972 — Urban gaseous and particulate pollutants are successfully modeled. The models would evolve to include photochemical ozone from automobile exhausts. (California Institute of Technology)

1973 — Robust glass optical fibers are developed. By 1986, erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier would significantly reduce the need for optical-electrical-optical repeaters. (Bell Laboratories)

1976 — Thin-film liquid crystal displays with picture elements driven by their own individual transistors enter the television and other mass markets. (RCA Corporation)

1977 — Increased disk storage mandates the use of lithographic techniques to make magnetic heads for reading and recording data. (U.S. Philips Corp.)

1981 — Advanced System for Process Engineering (ASPEN) is commercialized. ASPEN-developed software models and analyzes integrated processes from detailed design elements to their costs. (MIT Energy Lab / U.S. Dept. of Energy [DOE] funding [1976–1981])

1981 — First commercial PC-based process simulation software is developed (HYSIM). (Hyprotech)

1989 — Silicon germanium (SiGe) chip, with germanium included in the base layer of silicon chips, are commercialized, allowing for faster performance at lower cost. (IBM)

1992 — Aluminum oxide and molybdenum or tungsten for interconnecting computer chips is supplanted by fewer, smaller and faster cordierite glass-ceramic and copper layers. (IBM)

1998 — Fast, relatively inexpensive microfluidic devices are produced using soft lithography (rapid prototyping and replica molding) in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). (Harvard Univ.)

2000 — Integrated chips having 20 layers of semicon­ductor, dielectric, and conducting films, with individual features of 0.5 µm, are developed. (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.)

2003 — Full economic potential for process intensification — integrating multiple operations into a single unit — is achieved with model-predictive-controlled divided-wall columns. (BASF)