Konrad ZuseKonrad Ernst Otto Zuse (; German:; 22 June 1910 – 18 December 1995) was a German civil engineer, pioneering computer scientist, inventor and businessman. His greatest achievement was the world's first programmable computer; the functional program-controlled Turing-completeZ3 became operational in May 1941. Thanks to this machine and its predecessors, Zuse is regarded by some as the inventor and father of the modern computer.
Computer programmingComputer programming or coding is the composition of sequences of instructions, called programs, that computers can follow to perform tasks. It involves designing and implementing algorithms, step-by-step specifications of procedures, by writing code in one or more programming languages. Programmers typically use high-level programming languages that are more easily intelligible to humans than machine code, which is directly executed by the central processing unit.
Mechanical computerA mechanical computer is a computer built from mechanical components such as levers and gears rather than electronic components. The most common examples are adding machines and mechanical counters, which use the turning of gears to increment output displays. More complex examples could carry out multiplication and division—Friden used a moving head which paused at each column—and even differential analysis.
BerlinBerlin is the capital and largest city of Germany. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union (EU). The metropolis is also one of the states of Germany, being the third-smallest state in the country by area. Berlin is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, bordering Brandenburg's capital Potsdam to the southwest.
Word (computer architecture)In computing, a word is a fixed-sized datum handled as the natural or historical unit of data by the instruction set or the hardware of a processor. The number of bits or digits in a word (the word size, word width, or word length) is an important characteristic of any specific processor design or computer architecture.
BitThe bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communication. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented as 1 and 0, but other representations such as true/false, yes/no, on/off, and +/− are also widely used.
RelayA relay is an electrically operated switch. It has a set of input terminals for one or more control signals, and a set of operating contact terminals. The switch may have any number of contacts in multiple contact forms, such as make contacts, break contacts, or combinations thereof. Relays are used to control a circuit by an independent low-power signal and to control several circuits by one signal.
ComputerProgrammable machine that processes dataComputers and computing devices from different eras—left to right, top to bottom: Early vacuum-tube computer (ENIAC)Mainframe computer (IBM System/360)Smartphone (LYF Water 2)Desktop computer (IBM ThinkCentre S50 with monitor)Supercomputer (IBM Summit)A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation).
HertzThe hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base units is 1/s or s−1, meaning that one hertz is one per second or the reciprocal of one second. It is used only in the case of periodic events.
AerodynamicsAerodynamics (from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr) 'air' and δυναμική (dunamikḗ) 'dynamics') is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an important domain of study in aeronautics.
CelluloidCelluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common present-day uses are for manufacturing table tennis balls, musical instruments, combs, office equipment, fountain pen bodies, and guitar picks. HistoryNitrocelluloseNitrocellulose-based plastics slightly predate celluloid.
Clock rateIn computing, clock rate or clock speed is the frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses used to synchronize the operations of its components. It is used as an indicator of the processor speed. Clock rate is measured in the SI unit of frequency hertz (symbol Hz).*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.