Computer Science

1. Charles Babbage was an English mathematician who came up with the idea for a programmable computer. He is considered by many to be the “father of the computer” because of his innovations and concepts [1-1]. He was an extraordinary scientist and in the early 1800s he conceived the idea of a mechanical computer that could do more than just calculate numbers but store the information and could even print out the answers. He relied on the accuracy of difficult algorithms and had people known as “computers” to develop the charts. His complex system had numerous problems and it became a project that was never finished, but he began a new project that is the basic foundation of the modern computer. He developed a machine that used punch cards and called it the analytical engine [2-1]. The analytical engine performed calculations mechanically after data would be entered and then the machine would be cranked to calculate results. Babbage wanted the machine to be steam powered, but the prototype crashed before he could finish. Babbage was a man truly beyond his time. He was a pioneer in the field of computer science and can be credited as the first computer scientist. “The whole of the developments and operations of analysis are now capable of being executed by machinery. As soon as an Analytical Engine exists, it will necessarily guide the future course of science.” [3-1] - Charles Babbage

References

[1-1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage

[2-1] - http://www.charlesbabbage.net/

[3-1] - http://math.about.com/library/blbiobabbage.htm

2. The CPU is short for Central Processing unit and is considered the brain of the computer. It is the hardware within the computer that carries out the instructions of a computer program [1-1]. Large computers have CPU’s that require one or more printed circuit boards but with smaller computers the CPU is kept in a single chip called a microprocessor [2-1]. There are two typical components of the CPU; the arithmetic...