Difference between revisions of "CSC103: DT's Notes 1"
| Line 31: | Line 31: | ||
But technological processes are not. So computers can be designed using very different technologies, but whatever form they take, they will follow the rules of math when performing computations. | But technological processes are not. So computers can be designed using very different technologies, but whatever form they take, they will follow the rules of math when performing computations. | ||
| − | In our present case, the major influence on the way our computers are build is the fact that we are using electricity as the source of power, and that we're using fast moving electrons to represent, or ''code'' information. Electrons are cheap. They are also very fast, moving at approximately 3/4 the speed of light in wires<ref name="speedElectrons">Main, P., "When electrons go with the flow: Remove the obstacles that create electrical resistance, and you get ballistic electrons and a quantum surprise". New Scientist 1887: 30., 1993. </ref>. We know how to generate them cheaply (power source), how to control them easily (with switches), and how to transfer them (over electrical wires). | + | In our present case, the major influence on the way our computers are build is the fact that we are using electricity as the source of power, and that we're using fast moving electrons to represent, or ''code'' information. Electrons are cheap. They are also very fast, moving at approximately 3/4 the speed of light in wires<ref name="speedElectrons">Main, P., "When electrons go with the flow: Remove the obstacles that create electrical resistance, and you get ballistic electrons and a quantum surprise". New Scientist 1887: 30., 1993. </ref>. We know how to generate them cheaply (power source), how to control them easily (with switches), and how to transfer them (over electrical wires). These properties were the reason for the development of the first vacuum tube computer by Atanasoff in 1939<ref name="atanasoff1939">Ralston, Anthony; Meek, Christopher, eds., Encyclopedia of Computer Science (second ed.), pp. 488–489, 1976.</ref>. |
-The choice of the source of power will dictate how the information is transfered, and this will dictate how many states information can take. This will define a system with a given base. | -The choice of the source of power will dictate how the information is transfered, and this will dictate how many states information can take. This will define a system with a given base. | ||
Revision as of 07:54, 30 January 2012
