Module 1 explanation

At the heart of a personal computer is a microprocessor chip containing a large number of linked individual transistors each of which act like a switch and can either be on or off. Gordon Moore stated, that the number of transistors which can be placed on the same area of such a chip doubles approximately every eighteen months “Moores Law” ₂, this is commonly known as a processing generation. The number of these transistors directly affects the number of individual on/off actions that can be undertaken at the same time and determine the speed at which a process can take place. This is commonly known as processing power.

Rather than the processing speed staying the same and the chip cost continually falling, the economics of the manufacturing and selling processes meant that after a length of time, the initial production costs fell to a level where it was not cost effective to lower the selling price of the chip. Instead the actual price of the microprocessor stayed the same but the computing power multiplied.

This continual doubling of processing power lead to a vast increase in the complexity of the tasks that can be undertaken. At this point microprocessors became priced within the reach of the ordinary consumer and the first personal computers were born. As each new generation of chips has been produced, the number and range of tasks which can be undertaken has increased and this in turn has continually increased development and demand for the personal computer.

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