I realise (/think?) that CPUs essentially treat two different voltages as a 1 or 0, but what stops us from using 3 or more different voltages? Wouldn’t that exponentially increase the CPU’s throughput by allowing for decisions with greater than two outcomes to be calculated in one cycle? This would presumably mean that a LOT of stuff written for base 2 would need to be updated to base 3 (in this example), but I can’t imagine that’s the only reason we haven’t done this.
I feel like I’ve explained that poorly, but hopefully you get the gist.
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Because the base of everything is 0 and 1. Working with this, we created the bits and bytes.
The CHEAPEST method is 0 and 1, not just because the voltage but also a third transistor state. And then the fking thing needs to correctly identify each of the three stages.
Then comes the problem of mass adoption.
Also the actual advantage of a higher base is actually pretty small UNLESS you are trying for the borderlines of AI and processing power. We know this because ternary computer system EXISTED and FAILED.
Quite literally, creating a base 3 system is like reinventing the wheel.
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