Lecture_2.2

Page 1: Computing Generations

Overview of Computing Generations

• Zeroth Generation (1642-1945)

  • Primarily mechanical computers; foundational to later technologies.

• First Generation (1945-1955)

  • Used vacuum tubes for circuitry; led to the development of the first electronic computers.

• Second Generation (1955-1965)

  • Transitioned to transistors, making computers smaller, faster, and more reliable.

• Third Generation (1965-1980)

  • Featured integrated circuits, increasing the speed and efficiency of computers.

• Fourth Generation (1980-Present)

  • Characterized by Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI), allowing millions of transistors on a single chip.

• Fifth Generation (Future)

  • Speculative advancements, potentially involving artificial intelligence and intuitive computing.

Technological and Economic Forces

• Moore’s Law

  • Proposed by Gordon Moore, predicts a 60% annual increase in the number of transistors per chip, leading to continued enhancements in computing power and efficiency.

The Computer Zoo

• Describes the current spectrum of available computers, ranging from personal devices to massive supercomputers, highlighting the diversity and specialization in modern computing.

Page 2: Some Metric Units

Metric Prefixes and Their Values

• Milli (10^-3)

  • Explicit Value: 0.001

• Micro (10^-6)

  • Explicit Value: 0.000001

• Nano (10^-9)

  • Explicit Value: 0.000000001

• Pico (10^-12)

  • Explicit Value: 0.000000000001

• Femto (10^-15)

  • Explicit Value: 0.000000000000001

• Atto (10^-18)

  • Explicit Value: 0.000000000000000001

• Zepto (10^-21)

  • Explicit Value: 0.000000000000000000001

Larger Metric Units

• Kilo (10^3)

  • 1,000

• Mega (10^6)

  • 1,000,000

• Giga (10^9)

  • 1,000,000,000

• Tera (10^12)

  • 1,000,000,000,000

• Peta (10^15)

  • 1,000,000,000,000,000

• Exa (10^18)

  • 1,000,000,000,000,000,000

• Zetta (10^21)

  • 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

• Yotta (10^24)

  • 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Summary of Metric Conversions

• Converters showcase the exponential scale of measurement in computing, from small (femto, atto, zepto) to large (kilo, mega, giga, etc.). Both sets of prefixes facilitate the understanding of data storage and processing capacities.