TED ED: What makes computers tick?

What is the foundational invention that almost everything else relies upon?

• the vaccume tube

• the telephone

• the capacitor

• the transistor

At their core, computers are

• machines that make our lives more complex

• machines that make us work harder

• machines that perform mathematical operations

• machines that are scheming to make us stupider so we can be more easily overthrown

Computer programs consist of instructions for __________ performing these operations.

• typically

• electrically

• telepathically

• graphically

What was a triode?

• a system with a grid that repelled or attracted electrodes, allowing fast switching and amplification of signals

• a system with a gate that repelled or attracted neurons, allowing slow switching and amplification of signals

• a system that repelled or attracted electrodes, allowing the quieting of distortion caused by upper-class students

• 3 odes, such as 3 baby Shreks sleeping in one smelly crib

In ONE hour, ENIAC used the amount of power of __ homes in a day!

What are the advantages of transistors?

• easily transported by train

• they shock even more than capacitors

• efficiency and compactness

• how ginormous they are

Inside, computer operations are as simple as :

• tying your shoes

• the flick of a switch

• telling time on an old clock

• eating ice cream on an August day in your favorite flavor without getting a headache