Every kind of computer system requires one or more processors which carry out all the activity. From the earliest days of ENIAC and EDVAC to today’s laptops and tablets, most computers carry just one processor which is why it has come to be known as the CPU, which is short for Central Processing Unit. To understand how a CPU works, it is useful to have an analogy. Imagine finding yourself alone in an IKEA store with the plan for a complicated piece of furniture. The plan has been cut up into ...

Every kind of computer system requires one or more processors which carry out all the activity. From the earliest days of ENIAC and EDVAC to today’s laptops and tablets, most computers carry just one processor which is why it has come to be known as the CPU, which is short for Central Processing Unit. To understand how a CPU works, it is useful to have an analogy. Imagine finding yourself alone in an IKEA store with the plan for a complicated piece of furniture. The plan has been cut up into ...