Microprocessors
how they work...
a microprocessor is a small device that performs the tasks of a cpu in one or at most a few integrated circuits. they can take in information in code, translate it into information that they can understand, and then use it to give an output or to perform a task. they can also store new information in their 'memory' to use later, or to help them to understand a new command. microprocessors work in the language of numbers, in the numeral binary code.microprocessers have changed society for the better, as they have allowed many people to invent and build many devices, like computers, mobile phones, in-house phones, internet communication facilities, TV's, appliances, and even cars.The first recognised microprocessor was called the intel 4004, and the earliest advertisment was in electronic news magazine on november 15th 1971. it cost £60 and was the first commercialy available microprocessor. the project that built the 4004 began in 1964 when a japanese calculator company asked intel to build them a high powered desktop computer. busicoms original design was for seven chips which would do as follows: three would form a special CPU. its program would be stored in ROM, and its data in shift register read-write memory. ted hoff, the Intel engineer assigned to evaluate the project, believed the Busicom design could be simplified by using dynamic RAM storage for data, rather than shift register memory, and a more traditional general-purpose CPU architecture. Hoff came up with a four–chip architectural proposal: a ROM chip for storing the programs, a dynamic RAM chip for storing data, a simple I/O device and a 4-bit central processing unit (CPU). Although not a chip designer, he felt the CPU could be integrated into a single chip, but as he lacked the technical know-how the idea remained just a wish for the time being.the speed of a microprocessor is measured in HZ. these days, most microprocessors have 1 GHZ or more. this means that they can process 1 billion instructions in 1 second. In other words, if you have a 64 bits microprocessor your microprocessor can process a big arithmetic operation by using only one instruction of the microprocessor. Otherwise, if you have a 32 bits microprocessor, the microprocessor will need 2 instructions instead of one, as it has a lower level of performance.what you see here (picture 1) is a picture of the first commercially available microprocessor, the intel 4004. this device is half the size of your little finger, and yet it can perform a whole multitude of tasks that a CPU is expected to manage. it contains a few integrated circuits, which read the binary, understand it, and then use the information to give an output, or to perform a task. if you open up a microprocessor, then you will probably find something that looks a little bit like this (picture 2). this is the chip inside which works the circuit, and the whole thing would be completely useless if you removed it.I hope this smore has been suitably beneficial to you.