3 ms·
One thing I’m always amazed with - and it’s partly due to my lack of understanding of physics at this scale - is that when a processor with components on this s
by tyleo 7y ago
One thing I’m always amazed with - and it’s partly due to my lack of understanding of physics at this scale - is that when a processor with components on this scale is dropped a few feet, they aren’t reduced to smithereens. It’s hard for me to contemplate that whatever is holding these few atoms together is so resilient.
- keldaris 7y agoIf you find that amazing, contemplate for a moment how nuclear fission and fusion work and the amounts of energy involved there. Apart from a few comparatively exotic things (black holes, neutron stars, etc.), some of the largest force densities that exist are all around us in atomic nuclei (of course, those forces also decay very quickly with distance, but that's a different matter).
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- tim333 7y agoThe "components on this scale" are pretty light so there's not much force when you accelerate them. If a drop doesn't crack the silicon wafer it's not going to shift the bits and bobs on it.
- BurningFrog 7y agoNot sure how correct this is, but I think of silicon as basically a small metallic rock.
- zeusk 7y agoThey are made up of a solid lattice, the components are formed by differential doping. There is some migration, but it is far too slow to have an effect over the lifespan of our electronics. Physical inertia is meaningless over other forces involved in the lattice.