Computers Under the Microscope
The Computer Collection contains an assortment of photomicrographs illustrating the various parts that may be found in everyday computers. However, items such as microprocessors, compact disks, and hard drives are relatively recent developments. Early predecessors of modern computers, such as the slide rule and abacus, were simple devices that did not contain such an array of components. Yet, each of these early computing devices represents a primitive form of one of the two basic kinds of computers familiar today, analog and digital. The slide rule, for instance, is comprised of graduated scales mounted so that their relative movement enables simple calculations to be carried out via mechanical means. Since the device represents numbers by variable physical quantities rather than by discrete digits, the slide rule works by the same basic principle of more advanced analog computers. The abacus, however, enables calculations through the manipulation of counters whose positions indicate discrete numerical values. Similarly, modern digital computers, which are commonly referred to simply as "computers" today since they have come to be the dominant technology in the field, essentially function via the manipulation of discrete binary digits (1s and 0s).
The Computer Collection contains an assortment of photomicrographs illustrating the various parts that may be found in everyday computers. However, items such as microprocessors, compact disks, and hard drives are relatively recent developments. Early predecessors of modern computers, such as the slide rule and abacus, were simple devices that did not contain such an array of components. Yet, each of these early computing devices represents a primitive form of one of the two basic kinds of computers familiar today, analog and digital. The slide rule, for instance, is comprised of graduated scales mounted so that their relative movement enables simple calculations to be carried out via mechanical means. Since the device represents numbers by variable physical quantities rather than by discrete digits, the slide rule works by the same basic principle of more advanced analog computers. The abacus, however, enables calculations through the manipulation of counters whose positions indicate discrete numerical values. Similarly, modern digital computers, which are commonly referred to simply as "computers" today since they have come to be the dominant technology in the field, essentially function via the manipulation of discrete binary digits (1s and 0s).
No comments:
Post a Comment