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FAC1002 - Computer Generation

The document summarizes the key inventions that drove improvements in computer technology through five generations. It describes how each generation relied on major innovations like vacuum tubes in the first generation, transistors in the second, integrated circuits in the third, microprocessors in the fourth, and the development of artificial intelligence for the fifth generation. These inventions made computers progressively smaller, more powerful, efficient and able to take on more complex tasks.

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mohammad aljihad bin mohd jamal FJ1
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170 views9 pages

FAC1002 - Computer Generation

The document summarizes the key inventions that drove improvements in computer technology through five generations. It describes how each generation relied on major innovations like vacuum tubes in the first generation, transistors in the second, integrated circuits in the third, microprocessors in the fourth, and the development of artificial intelligence for the fifth generation. These inventions made computers progressively smaller, more powerful, efficient and able to take on more complex tasks.

Uploaded by

mohammad aljihad bin mohd jamal FJ1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Nowadays computer are seen in many different kind

of inventions or components. There are four key


inventions that made a huge impact on computers. A
big impact which is large enough that we can see
such a vast improvement in the computer technology.

1. The First generation of computers depended upon


the invention of vacuum tubes;
2. The Second generation it was transistors;
3. The Third it was the integrated circuit;
4. The Fourth generation, computers that came
about after the invention of the microprocessor.
5. The Fifth generation- the artificial intelligence.
A vacuum tube/ electron tubes - a sealed glass
or metal-ceramic enclosure used in electronic
circuitry to control the flow of electrons
between the metal electrodes sealed inside
the tubes. The air inside the tubes is removed
by a vacuum.

Vacuum tubes are used for:


i) amplification of a weak current,
ii) rectification of an alternating current to
direct current (AC to DC),
iii) generation of oscillating radio-frequency
(RF) power for radio and radar, and more.
1920s – 1950s : First IBM HQ
(1924 AD), ABC Computer
(1942 AD), Electromechanical MARK 1
(1944 AD), Electronic ENIAC
(1944 AD)FIRST GENERATION
(1951 AD – 1958 AD)
1951AD – UNIVAC 1 The use of Vacuum Tube
1948
IBM´s Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator computed scientific data in public
display near the company´s Manhattan headquarters. Before its decommissioning in
1952, the SSEC produced the moon-position tables used for plotting the course of the
1969 Apollo flight to the moon.

Speed: 50 multiplications per second


Input/output: cards, punched tape
Memory type: punched tape, vacuum tubes,
relays
20,000 relays, 12,500 vacuum
Technology:
tubes
Floor space: 25 feet by 40 feet
Project leader: Wallace Eckert
The Colossus vacuum tube computer
SECOND GENERATION: Transistors (1959 AD – 1964)
Transistors made of semiconductors replaced tubes in the
construction of computers.
Replacing bulky and unreliable vacuum tubes.
Perform the same functions.
Using less power and space.

The story of ENIAC computer speaks volumes about the


disadvantages of vacuum tubes in computers.

A transistor is a device composed of semi-conductor materials


(germanium and silicon) that can both conduct and insulate
Transistors switch and modulate electronic current.

The transistor was the first device designed to act as both:


i) a transmitter, converting sound waves into electronic waves
ii) and resistor, controlling electronic current.

The name transistor comes from the 'trans' of transmitter and


'sistor' of resistor.
The “Manchester TC”- Transistor Computer
Third Generation: Integrated Circuits (1964-1971)
The integrated circuit - Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips,
called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of
computers.
Users interacted with computers using keyboards and monitors and interfaced with
an operating system. The operating system allowed the device to run many different
applications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory.
Computers became accessible to a mass audience and they were smaller in size and
cheaper than their predecessors.
Fourth Generation: Microprocessors (1971-Present)
The microprocessor - thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon
chip.
What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand.
All the components of the computer—from the central processing unit and memory to
input/output controls—on a single chip.
As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form
networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation
computers also saw the development of GUIs.
Fifth Generation: Artificial Intelligence
Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in
development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition,
face recognition, deepfake etc that are being used today. The use of parallel
processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a
reality.
Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change
the face of computers in years to come. The goal of fifth-generation computing
is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of
learning and self-organization.

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