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boards would have to be interconnected in a chassis. The large
number of discreet logic gates used more electrical power—and
therefore, produced more heat—than a more integrated design with
fewer ICs. The distance that signals had to travel between ICs on the
boards limited the speed at which a computer could operate.
The integration of a whole CPU onto a single chip or on a few
chips greatly reduced the cost of processing power. The integrated
circuit processor was produced in large numbers by highly automated
processes, so unit cost was low. Single-chip processors increase
reliability as there are many fewer electrical connections to fail. As
microprocessor designs get faster, the cost of manufacturing a chip
(with smaller components built on a semiconductor chip the same
size) generally stays the same.
The first microprocessors emerged in the early 1970s and were
used for electronic calculators, using binary-coded decimal (BCD)
arithmetic on 4-bit words. Other embedded uses of 4-bit and 8-bit
microprocessors, such as terminals, printers, various kinds of
automation etc., followed soon after. Affordable 8-bit
microprocessors with 16-bit addressing also led to the first general-
purpose microcomputers from the mid-1970s on.
Since the early 1970s, the increase in capacity of
microprocessors has followed Moore's law; this originally suggested
that the number of components that can be fitted onto a chip doubles
every year. With present technology, it is actually every two years,
and as such Moore later changed the period to two years.

Task 3. Do you remember the English equivalents of the
following words and word combinations?
Величезна кількість, бути взаємопов’язаними в шасі
(апаратному блоці), невеликі логічні вентилі, двійково-
десяткова система числення, загальнодоступний.

Task 4. Answer the following questions?
1. What is a microprocessor and what functions does it incorporate?

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