Eli5 Why do computer chips warm up?
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I had always wondered the same during my gaming days until I actually read about how microprocessors work. So, the process is simple yet beautiful. The only operations a transistor is capable of performing are switching ON or OFF. A huge number of transistors make up a microprocessor or a chip. There are two heating effects that happen, namely,
Joule heating: This happens when electric current flows through the resistive material in the chip and energy is lost as heat. This phenomenon, also known as “Ohmic heating” or “resistive heating”. It is described by Joule’s first law: H = I^2 * R * t, where H is the heat energy, I is the current, R is the resistance, and t is time.
The more current that flows, or the higher the resistance, the more heat is produced. This is an unavoidable byproduct of electrical resistance in any material.
Switching loss: Modern microprocessors contain billions of transistors, which are essentially tiny switches. As these transistors switch on and off to perform computations, they use power. Some of this power is not fully utilized and is wasted as heat. This loss occurs every time a transistor switches state, and with billions of transistors switching billions of times per second, it adds up.
Hence, as powerful a microprocessor gets, it requires an equally efficient cooling technology. I hope this helps.
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