Computer
hideA computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions.
Although mechanical examples of computers have existed through much of recorded human history, the first electronic computers were developed in the mid-20th century (1940–1945). These were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers (PCs). Modern computers based on integrated circuits are millions to billions of times more capable than the early machines, and occupy a fraction of the space. Simple computers are small enough to fit into a wristwatch, and can be powered by a watch battery. Personal computers in their various forms are icons of the Information Age and are what most people think of as "computers". The embedded computers found in many devices from MP3 players to fighter aircraft and from toys to industrial robots are however the most numerous.
The ability to store and execute lists of instructions called programs makes computers extremely versatile, distinguishing them from calculators. The Church–Turing thesis is a mathematical statement of this versatility: any computer with a certain minimum capability is, in principle, capable of performing the same tasks that any other computer can perform. Therefore computers ranging from a mobile phone to a supercomputer are all able to perform the same computational tasks, given enough time and storage capacity.
For more information about Computer, read the full article at
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News tagged with computer
Turning heat to electricity... efficiently
Nov 18, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (64) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In everything from computer processor chips to car engines to electric powerplants, the need to get rid of excess heat creates a major source of inefficiency. But new research points the way ...
Solving big problems with new quantum algorithm
Nov 09, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (32) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In a recently published paper, Aram Harrow at the University of Bristol and colleagues from MIT in the United States have discovered a quantum algorithm that solves large problems much faster ...
Scientist: Leak of climate e-mails appalling
Nov 23, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (21) |
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(AP) -- A leading climate change scientist whose private e-mails are included in thousands of documents that were stolen by hackers and posted online said Sunday the leaks may have been aimed at undermining next month's ...
Researchers demonstrate a better way for computers to 'see' (w/ Video)
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 02, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (15) |
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Taking inspiration from genetic screening techniques, researchers from Harvard and MIT have demonstrated a way to build better artificial visual systems with the help of low-cost, high-performance gaming hardware.
New 'finFETs' promising for smaller transistors, more powerful chips
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (14) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Purdue University researchers are making progress in developing a new type of transistor that uses a finlike structure instead of the conventional flat design, possibly enabling engineers ...
Selling chip makers on optical computing
Nov 24, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (11) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Computer chips that transmit data with light instead of electricity consume much less power than conventional chips, but so far, they've remained laboratory curiosities. Professors Vladimir ...
Should I buy a PC or Mac?
Nov 25, 2009 |
2.4 / 5 (21) |
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Q. Our 6-year-old PC computer is dying a slow death and we are considering moving to a new iMac but have a few concerns. First, of all, we have several Word documents on our disk drive now that we want to keep and add to ...
Research helps overcome barrier for organic electronics
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (10) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Electronic devices can't work well unless all of the transistors, or switches, within them allow electrical current to flow easily when they are turned on. A team of engineers has determined ...
New search technique for images and videos has broad applications
Technology / Computer Sciences
Nov 10, 2009 |
5 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Engineers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have developed a powerful new approach to a fundamental problem in computer vision: how to program a computer to recognize or categorize ...
Nanowires key to future transistors, electronics
Nov 26, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (10) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new generation of ultrasmall transistors and more powerful computer chips using tiny structures called semiconducting nanowires are closer to reality after a key discovery by researchers ...
Ultra-Powerful Laser Reproduces How Star's Jets Travel through Interstellar Space
Nov 20, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A multi-trillion-watt laser at the University of Rochester has simulated a stellar jet -- an outpouring of matter from a fledgling star -- with unprecedented realism.
Professor finds that iconic Oswald photo was not faked (w/ Video)
Technology / Computer Sciences
Nov 05, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (10) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Dartmouth Computer Scientist Hany Farid has new evidence regarding a photograph of accused John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. Farid, a pioneer in the field of digital forensics, digitally ...
Spacesuits with artificial intelligence may look for life on Mars
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 04, 2009 |
5 / 5 (7) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronauts may in future be wearing spacesuits equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and digital eyes, turning them into what the researchers call cyborg astrobiologists.
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Study Pits Man v Machine in Piecing Together 425-Million Years Old Jigsaw
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Nov 16, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (8) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study pitting academic expertise against a computer in recreating a 425 million-year old jigsaw puzzle has discovered that there is no substitute for wisdom born out of experience.
iPhones are musical instruments in new course and ensemble (w/ Video)
Dec 01, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (7) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- iPhones are being used as musical instruments in a new course at the University of Michigan.
