For computer chips, as with golf scores, smaller is better. So Intel’s Oregon engineers will be smiling Wednesday as they unveil the fruits of their research for a new class of chip that employs smaller circuitry. It will likely be the tiniest ever to reach the market when it goes on sale late next year. The new 32-nanometer chip will have more computing power and better energy management than Intel’s current 45-nanometer chips, extending the battery life of laptop computers and handheld devices.
