Computer in 1950s were the size of a house literally. Today, your vastly more powerful smartphone fits in your jeans pocket. How could anything shrink in size while growing in power? The big breakthrough was the invention of the transistor, a tiny device that controls electronic signals. Like a nerve cell in the human brain, a transistor works with other transistors to store and process information in computing devices and other gadgets. Transistors were installed on silicon microchips, which replaced much larger vacuum tubes in 1950s. Many consider the transistor the greatest invention of the 20th century. In 1965 Gordon e Moore Co founder of the high tech inter corporation, predicted that the number of transistors that could fit on a microchip would double every 2 years. Known as Moore's law, his prediction had true. In 1971 computer makers could fit on the about 4000 transistors for chip, by 2011 they could cram in over 2.5 billion. Today engineer are searching for the transistors successor.
Shrinking thinking machines
The Antikythera mechanism
Designed
in 100 BCInput
method: Knob and crankSize:
Approximately one foot into six inches into 4 inches
Recovered
from a shipwreck of the island of Antikythera in 1900. This toaster size device may have been the
world’s first analogue or mechanical computer. Archaeologists believe the Greeks used in 2000
years ago to calculate the courses of constellations and predict eclipses. Smaller than a modern PC, the Antikythera mechanism contained at least
thirty bronze gears and was remarkably efficient for its size. It even had an instruction manual inscribed
on copper plates.
Difference engine
Designed
in 1837
Input
method: Punched cards
Size: about as big as your living room
Input method: Punched cards
Size: about as big as your living room
Devised
but never actually built by English mathematician Charles Babbage, this massive
contraption relied on Metal tumblers and cranks rather than electricity and
transistors, yet it had all the
components of a modern computer, a
memory for storing numbers, A processing unit for calculating math
problems, an input device punched cards
for entering information, and an
output device in the form of printer and a bill, which would be the the
first computer with sound effects.
Eniac
Size: House size
ENIAC(Electronic
numerical integrator and computer) play what’s the world’s first general
purpose electronic computer. although it took days to program eniac could
perform thousands of calculation in a second. That power required some serious
hardware. Eniac was large enough to live in weighed more than 30 tons and took
up the space of a typical single family house. Eniac relied on more than 17,000 soda cans size vacuum tubes that often
malfunctioned when the massive machine was powered up. eniac operators came up
with a simple solution for that, they never turned it off. The computer ran
continuously for more than seven years, it was even rumored that any acts
massive power needs for the responsible for occasional power outages in the
nearby city of Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA.
Apple II
Input method: Keyboard and cassette drive
Size: smaller than a suitcase
The first successful mass produced "microcomputer" the Apple II offered simplicity, the ability to upgrade, and style in a sleek beach box that hooked to your TV. Although primitive by today’s standards, insert space the apple two sold in millions and ushered in the era of personal computing. It was also one of first personal computers that could play a decent home version of arcade games.
IBM Simon
Input method: Touch Screen
Size: Brick size
Considered
the first smartphone, This touch screen
controlled device combined the features of computer email client, calculator,
calendar, appointment scheduler etc with a cell phone which transmits radio
signal to the nearest cell antenna to communicate with other cell phone users.
Paving the way for today’s iPhone and tablets, it was the first phone
that did other things and one of the first computers you could fit in your
pocket.
Google Glass
Input method: Voice commands and eye movements
Size: Fits on pair of eyeglasses
The
first in the new wave of variable computers, Google Glass combines a tiny
computer with a pair of glasses and works like a smartphone for your eyeballs. It displays all sorts of handy data from text messages to directions.
Critics complaint that the device built in camera represents an invasion of
privacy.
Oculus Rift
Input method: Joy-pad, mouse, gesture commands
Size: As a pair of snow goggles
The
long awaited promise of exploring virtual reality comes true in this headset
decked out with high definition displays for each eyeball, creating a three
dimensional wrap around view that shifts with your head movements without any
noticeable lag. It might be the closest
you will get to experience Harry Potters reality shifting room of requirements
in real time, as long as you don't get upchuck from motion sickness.
Quantum computer
Input method: Unknown
Size: Smaller than your fist
With transistors and microchips shrinking to there dinkiest point, computer engineers
are thinking small to create the next big thing. By using sub atomic particles
instead of transistors, The Quantum Computer of 2020 could pack 1000 times more
processing power than today's computer in a case the size of a coffee cup.
Is my brain more powerful than a supercomputer?
It’s
not really fair to compare that 3 pound melon of nerves in your noggin with a
silicon and plastic computer the size of a master bedroom. Human brains process
and store information in vastly different ways than a computer, for starters
but just for fun let’s compare the hardware specs of the computer on your
shoulder with those of IBM Watson’s, the artificially intelligent machine
that used its vast resources of data and its ability to understand speech to beat two former champions on the TV quiz show jeopardy!
|
|
Brain |
Watson
Supercomputer |
|
Processing
power |
2.2 billion
mega flops |
80 million
mega flops |
|
Memory
Capacity |
2,560 terabyte |
16 terabyte |
|
Power
Consumption |
20 watts |
200,000 watts |
The winner
Your Brain
Watson
may have licked 2 humans in the game of trivia, but it thousand of cores still can’t
come close to replicate the complexity of human brain. Human brain can achieve
more than 1 trillion neural connection and can store 300 hours of TV show.
Still scientists suspect they able to a built a computer that replicate brain power.
Video on this topic:
Why are computers getting smaller?(& smaller)
No comments:
Post a Comment