
Computer | Definition, History, Operating Systems, & Facts | Britannica
Oct 17, 2025 · A computer is a programmable device for processing, storing, and displaying information. Learn more in this article about modern digital electronic computers and their design, constituent …
What is a computer? | Britannica
Oct 20, 2025 · A computer is a machine that can store and process information. Most computers rely on a binary system, which uses two variables, 0 and 1, to complete tasks such as storing data, …
Computer - Technology, Invention, History | Britannica
Oct 17, 2025 · Computer - Technology, Invention, History: By the second decade of the 19th century, a number of ideas necessary for the invention of the computer were in the air.
computer summary | Britannica
Computer, device for processing, storing, and displaying information. Computer once meant a person who did computations, but now the term almost universally refers to automated electronic machinery.
Personal computer (PC) | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica
Nov 27, 2025 · personal computer (PC), a digital computer designed for use by only one person at a time.
Computer science | Definition, Types, & Facts | Britannica
2 days ago · Computer science is the study of computers and computing, including their theoretical and algorithmic foundations, hardware and software, and their uses for processing information.
Computer - History, Technology, Innovation | Britannica
Oct 17, 2025 · Computer - History, Technology, Innovation: A computer might be described with deceptive simplicity as “an apparatus that performs routine calculations automatically.”
Computer - Miniaturization, Transistors, Chips | Britannica
Oct 17, 2025 · In 1994 Leonard Adleman, a mathematician at the University of Southern California, demonstrated the first DNA computer by solving a simple example of what is known as the traveling …
Computer - Memory, Storage, Processing | Britannica
Oct 17, 2025 · Computer - Memory, Storage, Processing: The earliest forms of computer main memory were mercury delay lines, which were tubes of mercury that stored data as ultrasonic waves, and …
Computer - Supercomputing, Processing, Speed | Britannica
Oct 17, 2025 · The physical elements of a computer, its hardware, are generally divided into the central processing unit (CPU), main memory (or random-access memory, RAM), and peripherals.