EE major here. All the equations in the third panel are classical electrodynamics. To explain the semiconductors needed to make the switches to make the gates in the second picture, you really need quantum mechanics. You can get away with "fudged" classical mechanics for approximate calculations, but diodes and transistors are bona fide quantum mechanical devices.

But it's also magic lol.

[–] mranachi@aussie.zone 29 points 3 months ago (12 children)

Quantum Physics Postdoc here. Although technically correct this is also somewhat misleading. You need the band structure of solids, which is due to quantization and Pauli exclusion principle. The same quantum mechanics that explains why we did those strange electron energy levels for atoms in highschool. The majority of quantum mechanics, however, is not required: coherence, spin, entanglement, superposition. In the field we describe semiconductors as quantum 1.0, and devices that use entanglement and superposition (i.e. a quantum computer) as quantum 2.0, and smear everything else in-between. This

[–] Klear@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 months ago (2 children)

This what?

Oh no! The [clever quantum mechanics joke] got him!

[–] mranachi@aussie.zone 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)