Prior to the invention of the computer chip, society was limited to doing complex mathematical equations with an abacus or a slide rule. ... A vast majority of computers and other electronic devices have microprocessors embedded into their system. ...
Babbage's first attempt was in 1822 when he proposed a machine to perform differential equations, called a Difference Engine. ... It was slow, taking three to five seconds per calculation, and inflexible because sequences of calculations could not change, but it could perform basic math and also more complex equations. ... They contained all the components we associate with the modern day computer: printers, disk storage, memory, operating systems, and stored programs. ...
