The first electronic computers (computers), or computers, were created in the 30-40s of the XX century. Their appearance, in fact, marked the beginning of the modern stage in the development of information technology. At the moment, the 5th generation of computers is widely used, but the division of computer systems into generations is very arbitrary.
First generation of computers
The development of electronic computers is considered to be the development of German electronics engineers who used electromechanical relays for calculations. Then a technological breakthrough was made by the Americans, who replaced the relays with electronic vacuum tubes.
- The first computers on electromechanical relays in 1938-41 were created in Germany (models Z1 / Z2), then the British adopted the technology.
- The first Mark I supercomputer, which was larger than half the size of a football field, was created by IBM in the USA (1944).
- The first universal ENIAC tube computer, designed by American electronic engineer John Eckert and American physicist John Mauchly, designed primarily for ballistic applications, had nearly 20,000 electronic tubes and 1,500 relays. The monster consumed up to 150 kW of energy.
The second generation of computers
A feature of the next generation of computer development is the transition from vacuum tubes to transistors invented in 1948. The first transistor electronic computer center NCR-304 was assembled in the USA by NCR in 1954, however, such computers were widely used by 1960.
Third generation computer
It was based on integrated circuits (early 1960s). Sometimes the integrated circuit is called a microcircuit, or chip (chip in translation from English - "sliver"). Since 1965, the production of one of the best third-generation machines IBM / 360 was launched, the family of these machines consisted of seven models. By the way, the 5th generation of computers is fundamentally not very different from the old IBM and is more likely a computer evolution than a revolution.
Fourth generation
The emergence of the fourth generation of computers is associated with the improvement of integrated circuits. In 1950, the American K. Lark-Horovitz (Lark-Horovitz) focused on the possibility of neutron doping of the chemical element germanium. In the early 60s, this method was started to be applied to silicon: on its ultrapure wafers, the so-called large integrated circuits (LSI) were started using the integrated technology method, then ultra-large integrated circuits (VLSI):
- LSI contains 1000-10 000 elements in a semiconductor crystal (usually on the surface of the crystal).
- VLSI contains over 10,000 elements.
The emergence of LSI and VLSI made possible the emergence of microprocessors.
Fifth generation computer
By and large, computers of the fifth generation and fourth have so many common features that many experts combine them into one generation. It is believed that the fifth includes compact personal computers designed for one or two users. The first Altair 8800 PC by MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) was released in 1975. A year later, Apple Computer introduced Apple PC (1976) and Apple II (1977). After the release of the iconic IBM PC in 1981, personal computers finally conquered the world.
Alternative point of view
The debate about whether to correctly recognize the 5th generation of computers as something revolutionary new has been going on for a long time. If we separate computer generations according to the elemental base, it turns out that even between the third and fourth generations the line is very thin, but here we can talk at least about the appearance of microprocessors.
The term “fifth generation computers” is currently vague and is used in many ways. Some experts consider the creation of a dual-core PC in 2005 to be the starting point.
Smartphone instead of computers?
Analysts often argue what the personal computer of the future will be like - not a supercomputer for large-scale tasks, namely a PC. The current stage in the development of information and communication technologies is characterized by extremely fast and almost simultaneous development of computer networks (the emergence of the Internet, on the basis of which the World Wide Web operates) and mobile communications, played a special role. Moreover, a modern smartphone has incorporated, in fact, all the functions of a personal computer.
Both network computer technologies and mobile radio technologies are constantly being improved, so serious analysts see the upcoming changes in the short term in device minimization without loss of performance. If currently desktop (stationary) PCs prevail, which are gradually being replaced by laptops, laptops, ultrabooks and tablet computers, then soon all of them can be replaced by new generation computers based on modernized smartphones.
The appearance of flexible displays, which have already been manufactured in the USA and Japan since 2008, should play a special role here. By the way, flexible gadgets that fold like a book, or their displays collapse into a tube, have already been created (in the article you see their photos).
Computers of the future
The main hopes in this direction are associated with optical (photon) computers. The idea of ​​optical (photon) calculations - calculations made using photons that are generated by lasers or diodes - has a fairly long history. The advantages are obvious: using photons (moving at the speed of light), it is possible to achieve incomparably higher signal transmission speeds than using electrons (as in modern computers).
This will be a major breakthrough in the field of hardware and will create a revolutionary new (real) 5th generation of computers. The idea of ​​a photon computer began to gain material strength after it was predicted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) in 1969, and optical metastability was observed experimentally in 1976. For devices operating on the basis of this phenomenon, a semiconductor is required, transparent in one region of the spectrum and opaque in another, with a sharply nonlinear optical characteristic (for example, indium antimonide). Logic circuits on such optical elements can operate at a speed of 1000 billion logical operations per second.
In July 2014, a photon router was created at the Weizmann Institute (Israel) - a device based on one single atom, capable of switching from one quantum state to another, and allowing directing individual light quanta along a given route. The photon router is a key element that will enable the creation of the first photonic computer of the future.
Software environment
In the field of brainware, possible breakthroughs are associated with the development of mathematics - the theory of automata and the theory of algorithms closely connected with it, the theory of computability and the theory of computational complexity. Automata theory and theory of algorithms are sections of classical mathematical logic, in which attention is focused on the question of what can be automated or calculated.
Computational theory (theory of recursive functions) adjoins the theory of algorithms. Computational complexity theory (or computational complexity theory) is another area of ​​discrete mathematics that is closely related to computer science. The main question of this theory is: "How many resources are needed for computing (if the computability problem is solved)?" For numerous applications, the development of graph theory acquires a special role.
Artificial Intelligence (IE)
In science fiction films and literature, the future generation of computers is often presented as some kind of artificial intelligence, solving most problems for people, and in some cases (“The Matrix”, “Terminator”) subordinating humanity. Such films and prints make you wonder if IE needs the public, fueling interest with impressive video frames and photos.
The computers of the future are indeed planned to be endowed with elements of advanced artificial intelligence, but they will have nothing to do with the horror stories of Hollywood blockbusters. Non-traditional branches of mathematics, such as the theory of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic, as well as the theory of possibilities and probability theory, are increasingly being used to solve problems of artificial intelligence, in particular, to create intelligent decision support systems (ISPR).
findings
Modern computing systems and information technologies are and will find wider application in various fields of human life - in science and technology, in education and culture, in production, in transport and in the service sector. They form the lifestyle of a modern person, his culture, perception of the world and a mode of action. However, the development of these technologies carries many dangers. Therefore, further improvement of information and communication tools should go hand in hand with the humanization of society.