Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M2312

Koomey's Law

Koomey's Law
TechnicalHigh supportComputer Science
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Every 1.57 years, the number of computations per joule of energy doubles. That is, the improvement in computational energy efficiency is faster than the improvement in raw computing power.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Foundation of mobile internet: explains why phones and wearable devices (with limited batteries) have become so powerful. The future belongs to low-power computing.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Koomey's law describes that the energy required for a fixed computation roughly halves every 1.5–2 years, complementing Moore's law (performance) and emphasizing efficiency gains. It is used to predict the energy efficiency evolution of data centers and devices.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koomey%27s_lawZH · Explicit
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