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A floating-point unit (FPU), numeric processing unit (NPU), [1] colloquially math coprocessor, is a part of a computer system specially designed to carry out operations on floating-point numbers. [2] Typical operations are addition , subtraction , multiplication , division , and square root .
The hardware to manipulate these representations is less costly than floating point, and it can be used to perform normal integer operations, too. Binary fixed point is usually used in special-purpose applications on embedded processors that can only do integer arithmetic, but decimal fixed point is common in commercial applications.
The hardware unit that performs the operation is known as a multiplier–accumulator (MAC unit); the operation itself is also often called a MAC or a MAD operation. The MAC operation modifies an accumulator a : a ← a + ( b × c ) {\displaystyle a\gets a+(b\times c)}
Computer hardware contain dangerous chemicals such as lead, mercury, nickel, and cadmium. According to the EPA these e-wastes have a harmful effect on the environment unless they are disposed of properly. Making hardware requires energy, and recycling parts will reduce air pollution, water pollution, as well as greenhouse gas emissions. [67]
The first computer to have multiple parallel discrete single-bit ALU circuits was the 1951 Whirlwind I, which employed sixteen such "math units" to enable it to operate on 16-bit words. In 1967, Fairchild introduced the first ALU-like device implemented as an integrated circuit, the Fairchild 3800, consisting of an eight-bit arithmetic unit ...
The history of computing hardware spans the developments from early devices used for simple calculations to today's complex computers, encompassing advancements in both analog and digital technology. The first aids to computation were purely mechanical devices which required the operator to set up the initial values of an elementary arithmetic ...
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Computer simulation, one of the main cross-computing methodologies. Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. [1] It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both hardware and software.