Question

Frequency of EMR vs clockspeed of a processor

ANSWER
I was recently reading this thread on Reddit where people discussed the implications of a Terahertz processor, a computer processor that operates at a clockspeed of greater than 1 Terahertz (THz). My question is about this comment, which suggests that a processor operating at a clock speed of 400-800 THz would start producing visible light. (All the sub-commenters seem to agree.)

Am I correct in assessing that this is complete nonsense? While clock speed and frequency of electromagnetic radiation happen to share the same unit (they measure the number of times something happens in a second), aren't they completely different quantities? Is a processor operating at a clock speed of X Hz really emitting electromagnetic radiation at a frequency of X Hz?

Answer 1

The assertion that a processor operating at a clock speed of 400-800 THz would emit visible light is incorrect. Clock speed refers to computation cycles per second, whereas EMR frequency pertains to the number of waves per second. They are different concepts despite being measured in the same unit.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question you're asking pertains to whether a processor operating at a given clock speed of X Hz is emitting electromagnetic radiation (EMR) at the same frequency. You are correct to think that this is nonsensical; clock speed and the frequency of EMR are related but distinct concepts. The clock speed of a processor refers to how many cycles of a computational process happen in a second, not how many waves of EMR are emitted. While both are measured in hertz (Hz), they represent different physical phenomena.

When it comes to EMR, frequency is tied directly to the energy of the photons that make up the wave; according to the relationship E = hf, where h is Planck's constant and f is the frequency. The frequency of EMR also relates to its ability to transmit information—which is why optical fibers that use laser transmission at visible light frequencies can carry more information than traditional electronic transmission in wires.

Moreover, it is worth noting that visible light falls within the range of roughly 430 THz to 750 THz. A processor running at a clock speed within this frequency range would not emit visible light, simply because that's not how processors work. The process of electronic circuits switching on and off (the basis of a processor's clock) does not directly generate EMR at the switching frequency. In reality, any EMR emitted by electronic devices is usually due to electromagnetic interference and is typically at much lower frequencies than the device's clock speed.