The Problem with Today’s Computer Chips and How Quantum Computing Can Solve the Issue

As a programmer, we use a lot of if statements.

if true { do this thing } else if false { do this thing instead }

But what is true and what is false? In terms of processors, the brains of the computer, the computer chip, information is read in 0s and 1s, 0 being false and 1 being true. This comes down to electrical engineering, where if there is a current, then it is true and if there is no current, it is false. 0s and 1s are just bits of data, a single bit being a 0 or a 1. To grasp a physical concept of what a bit is and see it in picture, a bit is a transistor in a processor.

The size of a transistor is determined by how much space is between the source (S) and the drain (D). In 2013, the size of a bit/transistor was 22nm, which is about 50 silicon atoms.

Moore’s Law

Moore’s law states that the number of transistors that you can fit on a processor doubles every 2 years. Currently, there are over 2 billion transistors printed on a single chip. However, we are reaching a point where we can barely fit any more transistors onto a single chip. It is surmised that by 2025, the size of a transistor will literally be only 3–4 atoms apart.

Quantum Tunneling

When atoms are so close together, there is an effect called quantum tunneling where electrons just jump through the wall separating the drain and the source. It’s difficult to keep quantum mechanics out of this when electrons are so close together.

Qubit to the Rescue!

Rather than let this issue deter computers from progressing, engineers are using this to their advantage by using quantum physics to their advantage. Introducing the quantum bit, AKA qubit! A quantum particle are particles smaller than an atom, and can be in a superposition state, meaning they can be both 0s and 1s at the same time. This means with the same number of classical bits, the same number of qubits is 2^nth power, so it’s exponentially faster.

Works Cited

Morello, A. “Transistors & The End of Moore’s Law.” Transistors & The End of Moore’s Law, May 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtI5wRyHpTg.