Computers occupy an important place in the life of modern society. The number of PCs and laptops sold is growing at a tremendous rate, as, indeed, the amount of energy consumed by these devices. If we also take into account the huge server farms, coupled with the most powerful supercomputers that absorb electricity like black holes, it becomes quite uncomfortable. A recently published report from the Semiconductor Manufacturers Association has left many experts wondering if we can power our computers in the near future.
Since 1990, a commission of leading industry experts, which included representatives of 19 leading microprocessor manufacturers, has drawn up a kind of map of electricity consumption by the corresponding equipment. Today, only representatives of four chip manufacturers remain in the association - these are Intel, TSMC, Samsung and Global Foundries. The latest report from this organization on the study of the power consumption of semiconductor chips is somewhat alarming, because, according to it, by 2040 we will not be able to power our computers. You can see everything for yourself in the diagram below.
Humanity is approaching the point when economics (and not physics at all, as previously assumed by Gordon Moore) will become an obstacle to the further development of computer technology. The global computer infrastructure is already biting off a pretty decent chunk of the world's energy. According to experts, by 2040 humanity will not be able to cope with the needs of computers for electricity. It is difficult to guess what will be beyond this mark on the diagram. Of course, today these are just forecasts, and forecasts, as you know, do not always come true. But if the experts are right, mankind will have to change something either in the design of computers or in the production of energy.
SERGEY GRAY