How do computers work?

From phones to tablets and machines, all these things have one thing in common; they are all computers. But, isn’t there always a spark of curiosity about of how computers really work in order to function?  

We first need to understand what a computer is and how a computer works. The website Geeks on Site states, “A computer is a machine composed of hardware and software components. A computer receives data through an input unit based on the instructions it is given and after it processes the data, it sends it back through an output device.” Basically the little components tell the computer what to do when the user of the computer does something like pressing the keys then the computer puts it on the screen. You can think of it like when you touch something hot with your fingertips and then your fingertips will send a message to the brain and then when your brain sends it back to your fingertips to move your hand away from the hot surface.

Now that we know what a computer is, now we need to know what components (parts) are on a computer. CPU’s (Central Processing Unit) are one type of component that help a computer work. They are the brains of the computer that help compute things, but do not have any memory. They also provide instructions and process messages and this kind of works like a brain where the brain sends messages to the body parts and also processes messages.  It states on the website Medium that “As you probably know CPU’s — Central Processing Unit — are the brains of computers and it’s where all the computation happens.”

Another component of the computer system is the motherboard.The motherboard is the reason for everything working together perfectly with no problem but it won’t work without a power source. Geeks on Site states, “Motherboard – There is no acronym for this component but without it, there can’t be a computer. The Motherboard acts as the home for all other components, allows them to communicate with each other and gives them power  to function.There are components that don’t require a physical connection to the Motherboard in order to work, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi but if there is no connection or signal whatsoever, the computer won’t know it’s there.”