Beginning in 1947, we transitioned from the use of vacuum tubes in electronics to transistors. That switch revolutionized electronics, leading to widespread miniaturization and very low power consumption. That low power consumption and miniaturization meant that a radio would transition from being a piece of furniture to a small, handheld, plastic device the size of a deck of cards (one of those was in my Christmas stocking in 1960). Now, we are on the verge of being able to ultimately retire the transistor in favor of a device that will give us more computing and storage power on less electricity and in a smaller package. In other words, the transition will be almost the same as took place over 60 years ago. What is this new technology? It is called a memristor and it relies on the management of ions instead of electrons. Curious about it? Here’s a great article that explains it better than I can:
Give it a read and imagine computing in 2025.