Source: Medium |
Author: Tony Deller
QC is humanity’s next big step forward, but can we be good stewards of such power?
All we as humans had as tools for hundreds of thousands of years were sticks, stones, and our brains… and eventually fire. Arguably the greatest tool we’ve ever invented, though, is the computer. In the tiny span of time extending from the mid-20th century to now, we’ve entered a realm of exponential progress as processing power roughly doubles every few years. However, this rule, known as Moore’s Law, is getting close to its limit, since computer parts are getting closer and closer to atomic-size.
Computers are essentially a collection of simple parts that each have defined responsibilities: memory storage, processing data via logic and mathematics, and a way to control all of it through instructions. A computer chip is one of the most basic component parts. Each one has various modules which each do something specific, and each module has logic gates, and those are made of transistors. Transistors are the 0 or 1 “bits”, on or off. A bunch of transistors make up the logic gates, which allow for combinations that can do more advanced operations like multiplication and division. With a lot of those, you can compute a LOT of information, which currently lets us do important work like science and…. video games!
Transistors can also be thought of as switches that turn on or off the flow of electrons. At this level, and as transistors get smaller and smaller, we find ourselves nearing the tiny scales dictated by quantum physics. Right now, a transistor can be about 40 nanometers or smaller, almost 500x smaller than an average cell in your body.
Transistors can also be thought of as switches that turn on or off the flow of electrons. At this level, and as transistors get smaller and smaller, we find ourselves nearing the tiny scales dictated by quantum physics. Right now, a transistor can be about 40 nanometers or smaller, almost 500x smaller than an average cell in your body.
Essentially, transistors are operating at nearly an atom’s scale. At this level, the electrons don’t need to flow — they can just move using “quantum tunneling”.
