Terahertz processor speed of light

ivanhoe143

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Oct 7, 2011
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Surely light travels 0.3 metres per nanosecond.

1 tera herz requires 1nanosecond / 1000. so light can only travel 0.0003 metres (1/3 millimetre) in that time.
Or have I got my powers of ten wrong?
Surely this will be a limitation on chip design - light is too slow for us??
 
Yes, the Speed of Light is a limiting factor, assuming c is in fact constant [which is currently being tested, as some results indicate this is not the case...]. The REAL limiting factor though is the space between chip components, as you start to increase latency as distances increase.
 
Aug 4, 2015
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*Bit outdated but hey!!! It's never late!
Hi Ivan and yes confirming BlackHawks response above, your math is correct.
However, that should not be accounted as a limitation.
If you are assuming 1 light particle (Or call it in layman lang a light beam) at a time, then yes you are limited BUT... think multi-thread/multi-core (How many "light beams" can you travel and read across on your limited surface ;)