[moefh]

> A ternary computer equivalent would have 31trits

I think you mean 41, not 31 (3^31 is about a factor of 30000 away from 2^64).

The difference in the number of trits/bits is not exponential, it's linear with a factor of log(2)/log(3) (so about 0.63 trits for every bit, or conversely 1.58 bits for every trit).

> ternary computers have more states and the voltage differences between highest and lowest has to be higher to allow differentiation and then this causes more leakage which is terrible

Yes -- everything else being equal, with 3 states you'd need double the voltage between the lowest and highest states when compared to 2 states.

Also, we spent the last 50 years or so optimizing building MOSFETs (and their derivatives) for 2 states. Adding a new constraint of having a separate stable state *between* two voltage levels is another ball game entirely, especially at GHz frequencies.