Digital Circuit Binary System
Digital Circuit Binary System
A digital computer is designed to process data in numerical form (see digital circuit); its
circuits perform directly the mathematical operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication,
and division. The numbers operated on by a digital computer are expressed in the binary
system; binary digits, or bits, are 0 and 1, so that 0, 1, 10, 11, 100, 101, etc., correspond to
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. Binary digits are easily expressed in the computer circuitry by the
presence (1) or absence (0) of a current or voltage. A series of eight consecutive bits is
called a "byte"; the eight-bit byte permits 256 different "on-off" combinations. Each byte can
thus represent one of up to 256 alphanumeric characters, and such an arrangement is called
a "single-byte character set" (SBCS); the de facto standard for this representation is the
extended ASCII character set. Some languages, such as Japanese, Chinese, and Korean,
require more than 256 unique symbols. The use of two bytes, or 16 bits, for each symbol,
however, permits the representation of up to 65,536 characters or ideographs. Such an
arrangement is called a "double-byte character set" (DBCS); Unicode is the international
standard for such a character set. One or more bytes, depending on the computer's
architecture, is sometimes called a digital word; it may specify not only the magnitude of the
number in question, but also its sign (positive or negative), and may also contain redundant
bits that allow automatic detection, and in some cases correction, of certain errors
(see code; information theory). A digital computer can store the results of its calculations for
later use, can compare results with other data, and on the basis of such comparisons can
change the series of operations it performs. Digital computers are now used for a wide range
of personal, business, scientific, and government purposes, from electronic games, e-mail,
social networking, and data- and word-processing applications to desktop publishing, video
conferencing, weather forecasting, simulated nuclear weapons testing, cryptography, and
many other purposes.
Processing of Data
The operations of a digital computer are carried out by logic circuits, which are digital circuits
whose single output is determined by the conditions of the inputs, usually two or more. The
various circuits processing data in the computer's interior must operate in a highly
synchronized manner; this is accomplished by controlling them with a very stable oscillator,
which acts as the computer's "clock." Typical personal computer clock rates now range from
several hundred million cycles per second to several billion. Operating at these speeds,
digital computer circuits are capable of performing hundred of billions of of arithmetic or logic
operations per second, but supercomputers are capable of performing more than 1 million
times faster; such speeds permit the rapid solution of problems that would be impossible for
a human to solve by hand. In addition to the arithmetic and logic circuitry and a number of
registers (storage locations that can be accessed faster than main storage, or memory, and
are used to hold the intermediate results of calculations), the heart of the computercalled
the central processing unit, or CPUcontains the circuitry that decodes the set of
instructions, or program, and causes it to be executed.
Removable magnetic disks made of mylar enclosed in a plastic holder (older versions had
paper holders) are now largely outdated. These floppy disks have varying capacities, with
very high density disks holding 250 MBmore than enough to contain a dozen books the
size of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. Internal and external magnetic hard disks, or hard drives,
are made of metal and arranged in spaced layers. They can hold vastly more data than
floppies or optical disks, and can read and write data much faster than floppies. As hard
disks dropped in price, they became increasingly included as a component of personal
computers and replaced floppy disks as the standard media for the storage of operating
systems, programs, and data.
Compact discs can hold hundreds of megabytes, and have been used, for example, to store
the information contained in an entire multivolume encyclopedia or set of reference works.
DVD is an improved optical storage technology capable of storing as much as ten times the
data that CD technology can store. CDRead-Only Memory (CD-ROM) and DVDRead-
Only Memory (DVD-ROM) disks can only be readthe disks are impressed with data at the
factory but once written cannot be erased and rewritten with new data. The latter part of the
1990s saw the introduction of new optical storage technologies: CD-Recordable (CD-R) and
DVD-Recordable (DVD-R, DVD+R), optical disks that can be written to by the computer to
create a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, but can be written to only once; and CD-ReWritable (CD-
RW), DVD-ReWritable (DVD-RW and DVD+RW), and DVDRandom Access Memory (DVD-
RAM), disks that can be written to multiple times.
Flash memory devices, a still more recent development, are an outgrowth of electrically
erasible programmable read-only memory. Although more expensive than magnetic and
optical storage technologies, flash memory can be read and written to much faster,
permitting shorter boot times and quicker data access and storage. Because flash memory
also is resistant to mechanical shock and has become increasingly compact, a USB flash
drive allows for the easy, portable external storage of large quantities of data. Solid-state
drives are more easily accessed and written to than magnetic hard drives and use less
power, and have become common in high-end, lightweight notebook computers and in high-
performance computers. Flash memory is also used in computer tablets and smartphones.
Hybrid drives, which combine a smaller amount of flash memory with a large magnetic hard
drive, permit the economical storage of large amounts of data while benefitting from a more
responsive access to frequently used but only occasionally changed operating system and
program files.
Data are entered into the computer and the processed data made available via input/output
devices, also called peripherals. All auxiliary storage devices are used as input/output
devices. For many years, the most popular input/output medium was the punched card. The
most popular input devices are the computer terminal and internal magnetic hard drives, and
the most popular output devices are the computer display screen associated with a terminal
(typically displaying output that has been processed by a graphics processing unit) and
the printer. Human beings can directly communicate with the computer through computer
terminals, entering instructions and data by means of keyboards much like the ones on
typewriters, by using a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, or touchpad, or by
speaking into a microphone that is connected to computer running voice-recognition
software. The result of the input may be displayed on a liquid-crystal, light-emitting diode,
or cathode-ray tube screen or on printer output. Another important input/output device in
modern computers is the network card, which allows the computer to connect to a computer
network and the Internet using a wired or radio (wireless) connection. The CPU, main
storage, auxiliary storage, and input/output devices collectively make up a cumputer system.
Advantages
Vacuum tubes were the only electronic component available during those days.
Vacuum tube technology made possible to make electronic digital computers.
These computers could calculate data in millisecond.
Disadvantages
The computers were very large in size.
They consumed a large amount of energy.
They heated very soon due to thousands of vacuum tubes.
They were not very reliable.
Air conditioning was required.
Constant maintenance was required.
Non-portable.
Costly commercial production.
Limited commercial use.
Very slow speed.
Limited programming capabilities.
Used machine language only.
Used magnetic drums which provide very less data storage.
Used punch cards for input.
Not versatile and very faulty.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Advantages
Disadvantages
Advantages
Disadvantages
Scientists are working hard on the 5th generation computers with quite a few
breakthroughs. It is based on the technique of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Computers can
understand spoken words & imitate human reasoning. Can respond to its surroundings using
different types of sensors. Scientists are constantly working to increase the processing
power of computers. They are trying to create a computer with real IQ with the help of
advanced programming and technologies. IBM Watson computer is one example that
outsmarts Harvard University Students. The advancement in modern technologies will
revolutionize the computer in future.
Since the advent of the first computer different types and sizes of computers are offering
different services. Computers can be as big as occupying a large building and as small as a
laptop or a microcontroller in mobile & embedded systems. The four basic types of
computers are.
1. Super computer
2. Mainframe Computer
3. Minicomputer
4. Microcomputer
Supercomputer
The most powerful computers in terms of performance and data processing are the
supercomputers. These are specialized and task specific computers used by large
organizations. These computers are used for research and exploration purposes,
like NASA uses supercomputers for launching space shuttles, controlling them and for
space exploration purpose.
The supercomputers are very expensive and very large in size. It can be accommodated in
large air-conditioned rooms; some super computers can span an entire building.
In Pakistan and other countries Supercomputers are used by Educational Institutes like
NUST (Pakistan) for research purposes. Pakistan Atomic Energy commission & Heavy
Industry Taxila uses supercomputers for Research purposes.
Space Exploration
Supercomputers are used to study the origin of the universe, the dark-matters. For these
studies scientist use IBMs powerful supercomputer Roadrunner at National Laboratory Los
Alamos.
Earthquake studies
Weather Forecasting
Supercomputers are used for weather forecasting, and to study the nature and extent of
Hurricanes, Rainfalls, windstorms, etc.
Supercomputers are used to run weapon simulation that can test the Range, accuracy &
impact of Nuclear weapons.
Popular Supercomputers
IBMs Sequoia, in United States
Fujitsus K Computer in Japan
IBMs Mira in United States
IBMs SuperMUC in Germany
NUDT Tianhe-1A in China
Mainframe computer
Although Mainframes are not as powerful as supercomputers, but certainly they are quite
expensive nonetheless, and many large firms & government organizations uses Mainframes
to run their business operations. The Mainframe computers can be accommodated in large
air-conditioned rooms because of its size. Super-computers are the fastest computers with
large data storage capacity, Mainframes can also process & store large amount of data.
Banks educational institutions & insurance companies use mainframe computers to store
data about their customers, students & insurance policy holders.
Popular Mainframe computers
Fujitsus ICL VME
Hitachis Z800
Minicomputer
Minicomputers are used by small businesses & firms. Minicomputers are also called
as Midrange Computers. These are small machines and can be accommodated on a
disk with not as processing and data storage capabilities as super-computers &
Mainframes. These computers are not designed for a single user. Individual departments of
a large company or organizations use Mini-computers for specific purposes. For example, a
production department can use Mini-computers for monitoring certain production process.
Popular Minicomputers
K-202
Texas Instrument TI-990
SDS-92
IBM Midrange computers
Microcomputer
Desktop computers, laptops, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablets & smartphones are
all types of microcomputers. The micro-computers are widely used & the fastest growing
computers. These computers are the cheapest among the other three types of computers.
The Micro-computers are specially designed for general usage like entertainment, education
and work purposes. Well known manufacturers of Micro-computer are Dell, Apple, Samsung,
Sony & Toshiba.
Desktop computers, Gaming consoles, Sound & Navigation system of a car, Netbooks,
Notebooks, PDAs, Tablet PCs, Smartphones, Calculators are all type of Microcomputers.
Analog Computers
Analog computers are used to process analog data. Analog data is of continuous nature and
which is not discrete or separate. Such type of data includes temperature, pressure, speed
weight, voltage, depth etc. These quantities are continuous and having an infinite variety of
values. It measures continuous changes in some physical quantity e.g. The Speedometer of
a car measures speed, the change of temperature is measured by a Thermometer, the
weight is measured by Weights machine. These computers are ideal in situations where
data can be accepted directly from measuring instrument without having to convert it into
numbers or codes. Analog computers are the first computers being developed and provided
the basis for the development of the modern digital computers. Analog computers are widely
used for certain specialized engineering and scientific applications, for calculation and
measurement of analog quantities. They are frequently used to control process such as
those found in oil refinery where flow and temperature measurements are important. They
are used for example in paper making and in chemical industry. Analog computers do not
require any storage capability because they measure and compare quantities in a single
operation. Output from an analog computer is generally in the form of readings on a series of
dial (Speedometer of a car) or a graph on strip chart.
Digital Computers
A Digital Computer, as its name implies, works with digits to represent numerals, letters or
other special symbols. Digital Computers operate on inputs which are ON-OFF type and its
output is also in the form of ON-OFF signal. Normally, an ON is represented by a 1 and an
OFF is represented by a 0. So we can say that digital computers process information which
is based on the presence or the absence of an electrical charge or we prefer to say a binary
1 or 0.
A digital computer can be used to process numeric as well as non-numeric data. It can
perform arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and also
logical operations. Most of the computers available today are digital computers. The most
common examples of digital computers are accounting machines and calculators.
The results of digital computers are more accurate than the results of analog computers.
Analog computers are faster than digital. Analog computers lack memory whereas digital
computers store information. We can say that digital computers count and analog computers
measures.
Hybrid Computers
A hybrid is a combination of digital and analog computers. It combines the best features of
both types of computers, i-e. It has the speed of analog computer and the memory and
accuracy of digital computer. Hybrid computers are used mainly in specialized applications
where both kinds of data need to be processed. Therefore, they help the user, to process
both continuous and discrete data. For example a petrol pump contains a processor that
converts fuel flow measurements into quantity and price values. In hospital Intensive Care
Unit (ICU), an analog device is used which measures patient's blood pressure and
temperature etc, which are then converted and displayed in the form of digits. Hybrid
computers for example are used for scientific calculations, in defense and radar systems.
Central processing unit controls all the operations that is being done inside the
computer like temporarily storing data, executing program instructions, and
perform arithmetic and logic operations.
The main function of CPU is to execute program instructions. All the arithmetic
and logic operations, controlling the flow of signals are being controlled by CPU.
It is also called the Processor. In a microcomputer, CPU is a single chip located
inside the system unit. Except processor, the system unit also includes the circuit
board (Mother Board), slots and other components.
The CPU is made up of three major parts.
a) Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)
b) Control Unit and
c) Memory Unit
Arithmetic and Logic Unit is the part of CPU where all the processing tasks are
performed. ALU performed arithmetic operation and logical operation on data
under the direction of the control unit. As required, data that need to be
processed are transferred from the memory unit to ALU. During the processing,
data may move many times from memory unit to ALU and back to memory unit
till the processing is completed. After the completion of processing, the final
outputs, that are stored in the memory unit are directed to an output device or
secondary storage device.
The ALU does all the arithmetic computations and logical operations. The
arithmetic operations involve performing addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division operations while logical operations involve comparisons. The computer
might make a comparison and then use the result of comparison operations
include or another comparison.
Various possible comparison operations include EQUAL TO (==), NOT EQUAL TO
(! =), GREATER THAN (>), LESS THAN (<), GREATER THAN EQUAL TO (>=), LESS
THAN EQUAL TO (<=) etc. The data and instructions stored in primary memory
(RAM) prior to processing are transferred when needed to the ALU where they are
processed. Intermediate results are transferred back to the primary storage unit
until needed at later times. Data may thus move back again to storage many
times before the processing is over. After completion of processing, the final
results, which are stored in storage unit, are released to the output device. The
ALU performs the following tasks.
i. It performs arithmetic operation on data.
ii. It performs logical operations on data.
The control unit is the part of CPU that works with operating system to control
and coordinate the entire computer system. The control unit receives instructions
from the program, decodes them and generates signals to inform the ALU about
the operation that has been requested. Control unit sends signals to input and
output devices to perform tasks as instructions. Control unit also receives signals
from the peripheral devices for further actions. The control unit coordinates the
flow of data in and of the ALU, primary memory, secondary storage and various
input/ output devices.
Control Unit acts like a Traffic Police which interprets program instructions
received from memory and directs the sequence of events necessary to execute
instructions. control unit controls the flow of data and information through CPU to
and from other devices like input/output, memory and storage. It sends control
signals i.e. electronic signals to various units like I/O, ALU, memory etc. until the
required operations are carried out.
The memory unit or primary memory (RAM) is the part of the computer where
instructions (program) and data to be used by the computer are stored
temporarily. The data and instructions entered through the input device are
transmitted to the computer memory. Data and program of the secondary
storage are also transferred to the primary memory whenever they are needed
to be used. From the primary memory data are forwarded to the ALU for the
further processing and the processed data (information) is sent back to the
memory unit. From the memory unit these processed data are passed to the
output unit or secondary storage unit. So, the primary memory is the working
space where unprocessed data, instructions or programs currently running and
processed data are temporarily stored.
Memory Registers
These are high speed memory locations built into CPU. The memory registers
temporarily hold the program instructions for the program to be executed, the
input data to be processed and the intermediate results of any calculations when
the processing is being done. They are capable of storing specified amount of
data such as 1 word (=4 Bytes). There are different types of registers available
within CPU like Accumulator, Program Counter, Shift Resisters, Instruction
Registers, Status Registers, Stack Pointer etc.
An accumulator is a special kind of 8-bit or 16 bit register that is used to hold the
intermediate results of arithmetic and logic operations. The program counter
registers hold the address of the next executable instruction during program
execution. Shift registers allows bits to be shifted to the left or right during
multiplication or division.
Q. What is elasticity?
Ans. The property of the body to regain its original shape and size, after the removal of the
applied stress.
What is a beam?
When the length of the rod of uniform cross-section is very large compared to its breadth
such that the shearing stress over any section of the rod can be neglected, the rod is called
a beam.
How do you ensure that in your experiment your elastic limit is not exceeded?
The consistency in the readings of depression both for increasing and decreasing the loads
indicates that in the elastic limit is not exceeded.
What is the change produced in depression when the thickness of the bar is doubled?
If thickness is doubled, then the depression is reduced to 1/8 of its previous value.
What is the change produced in depression when the breadth of the bar is doubled?
If breadth is doubled, then the depression is reduced to l/2 of its previous value.
Which dimension breadth, thickness, or length of the bar should be measured very carefully
and why?
The thickness of the bar should be measured very carefully since its magnitude is small and
it occurs in the expression in the power of three. An inaccuracy in the measurement of the
thickness will produce the greatest proportional error in Youngs modulus.