BY Pragyan Sharma Polavarapu
TID BITS
-1
Computer
can do in just one second a million
calculations like 2+3, 4x2, 5-3,
9/3 etc . This is because electric current makes the calculations. The speed
of current is about 300,000 kilometres, yes,300,000 kilometres in just one second. There is an interesting fact.
Whereas we get current in our homes (in India) at 220 volts, the currents which
are used by computer/laptop/tab/cell phone are only like 2volts,3 volts,5 volts.
(Voltage of flowing electric current is like depth of flowing water in a neat
cement canal of uniform rectangular cross section).
TID
BITS-2
Only once
or twice in a second we can operate the
electric switches on the walls in rooms of our house. But inside the computer,
the current is switched on/off a million times in just one second Silicon
semiconductor molecules (atom sized particles) do such switching. The silicon
chip in computer is of the size of only a shirt button fixed in a tiny metal frame.
The speed of computer is because of this fast switching.
TID BIT-3
Can
numbers like 1,2,3 and letters like A,B,C flow in electric wires? Yes. Electric
engineers and mathematics professors did the trick. But every single number like 2,3,4 and every single letter like
A,B,C and every single symbol like ?,=,+ require eight separate currents. Eight
separate, independent ,unmixing, “parallel” currents are required to create a
number,a letter of alphabet or a special symbol. The eight tiny separate
currents are like eight parallel running tracks in a school playground or like
eight parallel unending water canals constructed with cement with accurate
rectangular cross section.
TID
BITS-4
Engineers
and maths professors thought ---if current flows at the enormous unbelievable
speed of 300,000 kilometres in just one second ,then why not make electric
current do mathematics? English has 26
letters of alphabet. Numbers are nine 1,2,3,4 etc . But current has only two
symbols—“switch on” and “switch off”. The “switch on” action is given code “1”. The “switch off” action is given code “0”. So
computer language and computer brain are made of only two symbols 1 and 0.
Two
extremely low currents are taken. Example:
2 volts current is given code “0”.
5 volts current is given code “1”. Millions of strings like
0100011110101 are created. Each number or each alphabet is created by a
separate combination of total eight 0s and 1s i.e. eight switching operations. Some
times when huge data (like whole books, whole music sessions, whole videos) is
recorded /played such operations require the atom sized minute switches to
operate hundreds, thousands, millions of
times in one second.
This
01010101 language was invented by the British mathematician George Boole (1815-1864).
Later after great research ,a group of engineers led by the Hungarian -American
scientist Dr John von Neumann (1903-1957) invented the first electronic
calculating machine “WITH MEMORY” and step by step programming.
TID
BITS-5
The
language of computer is numbers. Just as we keep a soap cake in a soap box each
number should also be kept in a box. Numbers flowing through computer are also
like persons living for a day in hotel rooms and going away.
If A=3
and B=5, the total of A+B (which is
8) is kept in another box X. If A=9
and B=4 the total (which is 13) is kept
in box X.This the basis of computer programming theory invented by electrical
engineers and mathematicians. All computers work using this algebra- like procedure ---of storing numbers and even words and
sentences of English( or other language recognized by computer ) in electronic containers
. This is done by using “flowing parallel electric currents” of very low
voltage flowing at 300,000 kilometres per second and using the current switching
capability of silicon crystals (which can switch low voltage currents millions of times in a second) .
Consequently millions of small problems like
like 2+3, 4x2, 5-3,
9/3 are solved in just one second by the electronic calculating machine
now named as COMPUTER.
TID
BITS-6
The
computer’s brain is nothing but a
picture of endless string of millions of 0s and 1s--- looking like 001010111000101000.
But these strings are cut automatically into pieces containing total eight digits
(0s or 1s) . Immediately, in millionth of second, an extra code like 10 or 11
or 01 or 00 is prefixed to provide clear
specific identity and great accuracy to
the small eight digit string . These two digit prefixes tell whether the code
indicates a number or letter of alphabet or a symbol like ?,=,+ etc.
Then there
are great computer languages like C and C++. They provide systems of
standardized codes to give commands to the “01010101 digital brain” of the computer.
In the computer languages (typed through keyboard of computer) there are real
English words like BEGIN, NOT, IF, THEN,ELSE
etc.These words are computer codes made
of hundreds or even thousands of 0s and 1s (atom sized electric switches) switching important computer
circuits . These English-like words are very powerful switching codes of
computer and act like powerful tractors and powerful train engines to move huge
data strings (millions of 01010101 strings) which are digital forms of books, photos,
music, video etc
Now let
us speak of the photos ,music and videos we see/hear over the computer/cell
phone .To say in a simple way---a photo is analysed (in millionth of second) into
millions of rows and columns of tiny light dots. each dot is represented
instantaneously by a eight bit code like 01010101. Each sound wave is divided
into square pieces like millions of railway wagons.each such “digital wagon” is
coded as a 01010101 string. All these millions of railway
wagon like strings travel on the “Electro-Magnetic waves(i.e. radio waves) and create the television
and radio programs and the sessions of Internet.
Such is
the way how the computer/laptop/iPad/cell
phone work. All the unbelievable incomprehensible speeds in computers and other digital
equipment are possible in the atomic scale world. This is because of the following reasons---(a)In
silicon semiconductor crystals switching of tiny currents occurs millions of
times each second naturally (b) Electricity flows in metal wires near to speeds
of 300,000 kilometres in just one second ( c ) Electromagnetic waves ( that
work Radio/Television/Internet)
propagate in air and empty space at speed of 300,000 kilometres per second.
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