Little miracles: How your favourite tech went from massive to microscopic

If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that things get smaller over time. Whether it’s your favourite chocolate bar or the technology you use every day, chances are it’s significantly smaller than it used to be.

That’s particularly true when it comes to digital technology. Analogue devices used giant components by necessity: think the cathode ray tubes of old TVs or the giant valves of pre-digital computers. Now, we pack tens of thousands of components into something smaller than a postage stamp.

Then and now: A vision of celebrities hanging out with their younger selves

That’s had an incredible effect. Today, we have things in our pockets or purses that used to be bigger than office blocks – and that’s changed the way we live, the way we work and the way we play. Let’s discover the incredible shrinking tech that’s all around us.