How do computers and electronics actually work?
I know the mechanics of computers and the other parts to them and how they function but how did they get the function to function? No matter how hard I think, I can’t think of how computers and other things got the function to function? Like, how did the people develop an artificial code and put it into the chips and things to allow them to function? It seems impossible but it is possible because we have it. Like, how can people put codes into metal and other non-living substances to allow them to support articifial intelligence and things? Like, people can type, use programs, access and do things on computers just because of chips and other components to computers. How and why is it possible?
Computers–difficult subject.
It all comes down to on/off switches. On is a one (1) and off is a zero (0). Anything can be represented with enough 1s and 0s. That is called Binary code. The value of the digit multiplies by 2x for every digit to the left.
0 is zero
1 is one
10 is two
11 is three
100 is four, etc.
On a keyboard, all letters and symbols and numbers have a special code of numbers, called ASCII. One can send a letter or series of letters (words) by ASCII numbers between programs, and between machines. The ASCII numbers are in binary form.
If you have four binary numbers together, it is a bit. 1001 is nine
If you have eight binary numbers together, it is a byte. 01100011 is ninety-nine
You can save the bits and bytes on a magnetic media (floppy or hard disk or a data stick or flash drive) as magnetic zones of N and S directions (I forget if a 1 is N or S). They can be saved by the multi-billions in rings that magnetic heads can read later, and write also.
There is another storage area, called volatile memory. It is very fast, but blanks out when power is off. And a third area, called permanent read-only memory or PROM and eraseable permanent read only memory (EPROM) saves the information needed to start up and get the computer ready to run programs.
All programs are just shuffling bits and bytes of binary 1s and 0s inside a central processing unit. It determines what to do with the bits and bytes. Addition, subtraction, comparison (equal or larger or smaller), and get more bits and bytes, or send them on to storage or display or other output. This is determined by programs.
The program that does the most is the operating system. It tells the processor what to do with other programs. It is written in several languages. The simplist is in binary code. This comes from machine code. That is very simple instructions of what to do with numbers and letters (add, subtract, store, get, delete). Machine code accepts instructions from a programming language. This language can be understood by humans easily. Some popular programming languages have been Basic, Fortran, Cobol, Pascal, Ada, LISP, C, C++, and many more modern ones. A programmer uses one or more to create an operating system and applications (tools of software) to handle data.
Data is information that flows in and out of the computer. It can come from keyboard, mouse, USB, network, serial and parallel ports, and from radio and infrared links. The data is processed by the application, and either stored, sent to outputs (display, printer, ports, radio, etc) or on to other applications or deleted.
Programs and applications are called from disk storage and PROM and EPROM as needed, and fed into (volatile) memory and processed.
The picture you see on the screen is a series of bits. At each row across, there are hundreds of groups of three LCD patches that can be left black, or made clear with a voltage, depending upon what is sent to the patches. There are red, blue and green patches. All three patches on equally makes white. Various colors can be made by combining the three colors unequally. A voltage can be low, medium, or high, with up to 32 steps, depending upon what was sent. That gives quite a range of brightness, and many millions of colors. Each 3-patch is a pixel. Many pixels in rows and columns make a picture.
Mouse clicks are just sending a high (1) or low (0) signal to the computer. Mouse movement used to be by a ball rolling a pair of wheels. The wheel had slots that interrupted a light shining on a sensor, making changes of light/dark/light and sending high and low signals. Now, laser mouse shines a light on a surface, and if there is a variation in the reflection (mouse moved), a signal is sent.
That’s about it. The rest is just cake icing.
Recycling Computers