TL 9 microchips?

[SimonAce]

Originally Posted by Rupert

Traveller didn't give sizes in real world terms, though. I understand that the authors knew that the model they used was obsolescent even when written, but felt it made for interesting game choices (do we run the improved aim software, or the improved dodge software?) Later supplements and edition went for a more abstract approach.

OTOH, in 2300AD some of those same authors did make the mistake of listing the storage size of the hand computers and their data chips (200MB, as I recall).

One thing that I remember is a comment by a guy who worked on oil rig IT. He said that he laughed at Traveller's huge computers until he saw the size of the controlling electronics on rigs. Being made to take abuse and bad weather and to control heavy machinery they themselves were very heavy and there were many boxes over the whole rig.

To the topic at hand , I always assumed that TL9 chips were pretty similar to advanced TL8 chips like those 2 NM ones the OP mentioned only stable, resistant to quantum effects and probably with a more efficient instruction set . TL10 ones are super conductor on diamond or some such.

Now 2300 AD is a post apocalypse setting (its 300 years after Twilight 2000) those sizes make some sense as they may have followed a different tech path and a lot of knowledge was lost