40 interesting computer facts you definitely didn't know

40 of the most interesting computer facts you didn’t know

Computers are a common part of our lives, but how many facts about them do we really know? In this article, we have compiled for you 40 interesting facts about computers that you definitely didn’t know.

Table Of Contents

The most powerful computer in the world has over 148000 processors and can perform over 20000000000000000000000000000 operations per second.
IBM released the first personal computer in 1981. It ran on the Intel 8088 processor and cost about $1565 dollars.
There are currently about 2 billion computers in the world and the number is constantly growing.
Supercomputers consume so much energy that the power of one of them is equal to the power consumption of 250000 family houses.
The American space agency NASA has been using computers since the 1960s to control its missions into space.
The most popular programming language in the world is Java, which is used by more than 9 million developers.
It can take up to 200 years to calculate a typical password, but modern computers can crack it in less than one second.
The computer mouse was invented by two developers at Stanford University in 1960. It was so named because of its external resemblance to a small rodent.
Every day there are about 6,000 new viruses and spyware programs created by hackers to break into computers and obtain confidential information.
IBM’s “Deep Blue” computer was the first computer that was able to defeat a world chess champion. This happened in 1997.

Conclusion: computers are amazing devices that are constantly evolving and can perform incredible tasks. These 40 interesting facts show how important and influential computers are in our modern lives.

First used by the military

Military organizations are very often leaders in the use of new technology. Computers are no exception.

Interesting fact: The first program-controlled electromechanical computer, called the Atanasoff-Berry computer, was developed by American physicist and mathematician John Atanasoff and engineer Clifford Berry in the mid-1930s.

The World War II era was also a time of rapid development of modern computing. Military countries used computers to encrypt and decrypt messages and to calculate artillery tables. For example, the first electronic computer, the ENIAC, was built in 1945 in the United States of America specifically for calculating artillery tables. It covered an area of about 167 square meters, weighed about 30 tons, and contained more than 17,000 electronic tubes.

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Later, thanks to technological advances, the use of computers spread to other industries and became public knowledge.

The most powerful supercomputer

Supercomputers are devices designed to perform complex tasks that require enormous computing power. Over time, supercomputers become more and more powerful, reaching incredible performance.

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The most powerful supercomputer at the moment is Summit, which is located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States. This supercomputer was developed by IBM and uses Power9 processors with NVIDIA Tesla V100 graphics gas pedals.

Here are some facts about this impressive supercomputer:

Summit has a total computing power of over 200,000 teraflops (that’s 200 million billion billion floating point operations per second).
It has more than 2.4 million nuclear processors combined to perform tasks together.
The supercomputer runs on the Linux operating system and uses a special library for efficient distributed computing.
Summit covers an area equivalent to two tennis courts and weighs over 340 tons.
Summit’s functionality includes nuclear weapons simulations, molecular calculations, and medical data analysis.

Summit is just one example of the tremendous capabilities that supercomputers provide for scientific and engineering research. Future developments in supercomputing foreshadow even more complex tasks and solutions to problems that seem impossible today.

The concept of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the science and technology aimed at creating computer systems capable of performing tasks that normally require human intelligence. The concept of artificial intelligence became relevant in the second half of the 20th century and has been actively developing since then.

The basic principles of AI are:

Learning: Artificial intelligence is capable of learning from experience and information.
Reasoning: AI can apply logical and heuristic thinking to solve problems.
Autonomy: Artificial intelligence can make decisions without requiring constant human involvement.

Artificial intelligence is used in many fields such as medicine, finance, industry and science. It is capable of performing complex tasks that were previously thought to be possible only for humans. For example, AI can analyze large amounts of data, recognize speech and images, control robots and autonomous systems, and predict future events.

Interest in the development of artificial intelligence is not only aroused by the scientific and technological community, but also by society as a whole. Many questions arise about the ethics of AI use, its impact on the labor market and social relations. Realizing the potential and risks of artificial intelligence, scientists and specialists are constantly working to improve its concept and application in practice.

FAQ:

What computers are commonly referred to as “compact” computers?

Computers that are small in size and can be easily moved or installed on small desktops are called compact computers. They usually differ from desktop computers in that they are smaller in size and weight. Examples of compact computers include laptops, netbooks, tablets, and mini-PCs.

What is the most powerful computer in the world?

Currently, the most powerful computer in the world is considered to be the Summit, a supercomputer developed by IBM and Nvidia for the U.S. National Laboratory of Oak Ridge. It has a processing power of over 200 petaflops (200,000 trillion floating point operations per second) and is one of the fastest computers in history.

What were the first computers?

The first computers appeared in the mid-20th century and were huge electromechanical machines. One of the most famous examples is the Eniac, which was built in 1946 and used for computing during World War II. These early computers were difficult to program and took up entire rooms.

How long do computers store information?

How long information can be stored on a computer depends on several factors, including the type of media (e.g., hard disk or SSD), operating conditions, and the quality of the hardware. Under ideal conditions, with proper care and regular data backups, computers can retain information for several years or even decades. However, over time, the likelihood of problems with the storage media (such as physical damage or loss of magnetic fields) increases and can lead to loss of information.

What role did Alan Turing play in the development of computers?

Alan Turing played a key role in the development of computers. He was one of the founders of the theoretical computer and proposed the concept of a Turing machine based on mathematical logic. His work on decoding German codes during World War II also played an important role in the development of computer science.

What were the world’s first computers?

The first general-purpose computer in the world was the Z3, which was built by Konrad Zuse in 1941. It was used to solve scientific calculations and was based on an electromechanical system. Another early computer was the ENIAC, built in 1945 in the United States.

What is the Richard Hennessy Code?

The Richard Hennessy code is a memo code used in the computer world to track errors in processors and other components. It is named after Richard Hennessy, who was a computer systems engineer and made significant contributions to the design and improvement of processors.