When we use a computer, a smartphone, or even just run the washing machine, we rarely think that small but extremely powerful processors are behind all these actions.
These chips, invisible to us, perform millions of operations per second, and today we take them for granted, but long ago their appearance was a real technological breakthrough.
Let’s take a look at the history of their development and see how they changed the world around us. The birth of the microprocessor Let’s go back in time, namely to the time when computers took up entire rooms and their power was much less than that of a modern smartphone.
Around the 1970s, computers were huge and very expensive, and only large companies or government organizations could afford to use them.
But that all changed when Intel introduced the world’s first microprocessor, the Intel 4004, in 1971.
It was the size of a fingernail and could perform simple calculations that previously required large and complex machines.
It was a 4-bit processor, meaning it could process small pieces of information at a time.
But despite its limitations, the Intel 4004 was the first step on the road to modern computers.
To better understand the significance of this discovery, it is worth noting that the processor had only 2,300 transistors, microscopic elements that perform logical operations.
By comparison, modern processors have billions of such transistors.
But at the time, it was incredible progress.
The 4004 operated at 740 kHz and could perform up to 60 thousand operations per second.
Today, such figures seem very modest, but for the 1970s, it was a real technological breakthrough. Why was it so important? The fact is that the Intel 4004 made it possible to create much smaller and cheaper computers with the ability to perform tasks that were previously inaccessible to ordinary users.
For example, it was used in calculators and small control systems.
The small chip actually opened the door to the creation of new technologies and became the basis for the further development of microprocessors.
Since then, processors have evolved at an incredible rate. The emergence of 8-bit and 16-bit processors After the Intel 4004 showed the world the capabilities of microprocessors, technology development began to gain momentum.
That first microprocessor was only the beginning, and within a few years, engineers realized that even greater performance could be achieved by increasing the amount of data processed per cycle.
This method led to the emergence of 8-bit processors. 8-bit processor In the mid-1970s, 8-bit processors such as the Intel 8080 or Zilog Z80 appeared on the market.
What does “8-bit” mean?
It means that such processors could process 8 bits of information at a time, or 1 byte.
For comparison, the Intel 4004 was a 4-bit processor that could process only half a byte at a time.
Such processors quickly became the basis for early personal computers.
For example, the Zilog Z80 was used in many popular computers at the time, such as the TRS-80 and ZX Spectrum.
PCs became more affordable for ordinary people, not just for large companies or scientific institutions. The 16-bit processor But of course, the development did not stop there.
In 1978, Intel took the next big step forward with the introduction of the 16-bit Intel 8086 processor.
It could process twice as much data in one cycle as 8-bit processors.
In addition, the Intel 8086 became the basis for the x86 architecture, which is still used in some modern personal computers.
16-bit processors made it possible to create more powerful computers, allowing for more complex tasks, such as word processing, database work, and even simple graphics operations.
In addition to increased productivity, new additional features emerged, namely multitasking – the ability to run several programs simultaneously.
This was already an important step in the development of computer systems, which then led to the creation of modern operating systems and software. Impact on the market As you may have already realized, with the advent of 8-bit and 16-bit processors, computers became very affordable not only for businesses but also for ordinary users.
People began to use PCs at home for various tasks: writing documents, keeping records, and also for entertainment by playing computer games.
These processors became the first real “brains” of home computers, and laid the foundation for the development of the entire computer industry, which became more powerful and affordable every year.