What does an idle CPU do?

In the last post I said the fundamental axiom of OS behavior is that at any given time, exactly one and only one task is active on a CPU. But if there’s absolutely nothing to do, then what? It turns

Building a low power PC on Skylake – 10 watts idle

What Are Good Idle CPU Temps?

Instability on Z790 HERO :Too much CPU Power draw in Idle and gaming / weird clock behaviour

CPU Idle States Microsoft Learn

Execute programs when your system enters and leaves idle state - gHacks Tech News

System Idle Process - Wikipedia

What Is The Optimal CPU Idle Temp? Find Out Now!

Idle CPU Usage on Grafana seems extremely high: 70,000%+ - metrics - Fly.io

What Are Good Idle CPU Temps?