Central Processing Unit

INTRODUCTION

Central Processing Unit (CPU), in computer science, microscopic circuitry that serves as the main information processor in a computer. A CPU is generally a single microprocessor made from a wafer of semiconducting material, usually silicon, with millions of electrical components on its surface. On a higher level, the CPU is actually a number of interconnected processing units that are each responsible for one aspect of the CPU’s function. Standard CPUs contain processing units that interpret and implement software instructions, perform calculations and comparisons, make logical decisions (determining if a statement is true or false based on the rules of Boolean algebra), temporarily store information for use by another of the CPU’s processing units, keep track of the current step in the execution of the program, and allow the CPU to communicate with the rest of the computer.