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00:30Hello and welcome to... Hello. Welcome to Think of a Number. I have under this cloth a copy, not the original, a copy of the oldest computer known to mankind. And I need somebody who's computer-orientated to help. So can I ask you, what's one plus one? Two.
00:53Two. Correct. But it's not the answer I was looking for. Can you come out here? See, if you're involved in computers, you wouldn't probably have said one and one is two. I'll show you why.
01:03We've got under that cloth a very primitive computer. So can you unveil it and we'll have a look at it. Now the bulb is the readout, which gives you the information, and the switch is where you put the information in.
01:15So we'll do your sum again. Only I haven't got any hands free. So you'll have to do it. One plus one. So press the switch to put the first one in. Oh! The lights come on! Fantastic. The wonders of science.
01:27Right. Now put the other one in. It's one plus one. Press the switch again. It's gone out. So what's the difference now? It's in the bulb when we started, and the bulb as it is now.
01:39Gone out.
01:40There's no difference, is there? So in the terms of this computer, one plus one equals nothing. Doesn't it? Ah, yes. Well, if you can understand that, you're computer-orientated, and you can help me unveil this.
01:53It's one of the oldest computers, or the oldest computer, known to man. Take the cloth off.
01:59Me hands! Of course! You see, man first learned to count on his hands, so it's the oldest computer. So thank you very much. Shake computers.
02:09Give her a round of computers.
02:16Don't bash your computers about. They're very delicate. But that's what this program is all about. Computers.
02:21First of all, we must ask, why in computer language does one plus one sometimes equal nothing?
02:27Well, we use a system of numbers with ten digits, from nought to nine.
02:33So there's another system that uses just two digits, nought and one. It's called the binary system.
02:39Have a look at this.
02:39These are the first eight binary numbers.
02:47Starting with nought, and then one, and then something odd happens.
02:52See, with our number system, when we get to ten, we use two digits.
02:57We keep using two digits until we get to 99, then we use three digits for 100,
03:02and carry on until 999, then we use four digits for 1,000, and so on.
03:06With the binary system, this happens much quicker.
03:12We use one digit until we get to two.
03:14Then we use two digits.
03:17Then, when we get to four, we use three digits.
03:20Then when we get to eight, we use four digits.
03:24And at 16, we use five digits.
03:27And as the numbers double, so we use an extra digit.
03:29I can show you that with the help of the audience here.
03:32Some of you have got cards.
03:33In the second row, can you hold your cards up first?
03:36That's fine.
03:37That's right.
03:37Lovely.
03:38Hold them forward so we can see them above somebody else's head.
03:41That's right.
03:41One, two, four, eight, 16.
03:42Now, in front, you've got cards with a nought on one side and a one on the other.
03:47OK.
03:48And with these cards, we can show you any number from 1 to 31.
03:52So somebody give me a number between 1 and 31.
03:54Any number you like.
03:5524.
03:5624, somebody said.
03:57OK.
03:5924 in binary language, we need a 16 and an 8.
04:04Because 16 and an 8 equals 24.
04:07And the binary number for 24 is 1, 1, nought, nought, nought.
04:11Give me another one, perhaps a little smaller.
04:1319.
04:1419.
04:15OK.
04:15Can you turn those back again?
04:1819.
04:19It's bigger than 16, so we'll use a 16.
04:2216 and an 8 is too many.
04:2316 and 4 is 20, too many.
04:2716 and 2 makes 18.
04:30And 1 makes 19.
04:32Thanks very much.
04:34So there we are.
04:34The binary number for 19 is 1, nought, nought, 1, 1.
04:38So each binary number is different.
04:41And each number is represented by a series of numbers that are just nought or 1.
04:46And that's why it's ideal for computers.
04:48You see, computers work with switches, and they can portray or show a number.
04:55If the switch is on, it means a 1.
04:57If the switch is off, it means a nothing.
05:00The binary system is very good for computers.
05:03And it's so simple, just two digits, nought and 1.
05:05So why can't we have the binary system in everyday life?
05:10Stand by for a binary newsflash.
05:13Hello.
05:16We've just received news of a bank robbery.
05:18Thedes are believed to have robbed a bank, getting away with about 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 pounds.
05:27Give or take 1, 0, 1, 0.
05:28They were last seen heading south on the M 1, 0, 1.
05:32In a white rover, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0.
05:37Registration number XBC, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0.
05:410, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0.
05:43Well, with anyone with any information, please ring New Scotland Yard on 01 if you're outside London.
05:491-101-100-111-11-110-10.
05:53Or simply dial 1001-1001-1001.
05:58Ah, I've just got some more information.
06:01Tell them we're not going south on the M101, we're going north towards Scotland on the M1.
06:06Now, as I said, with anyone with information, please ring Scotland Yard.
06:131-101-100-111-100.
06:20So there we are, we can't use binary numbers in everyday life.
06:24It's 1-0 confusing, er, too confusing.
06:27However, binary numbers are ideal for computers, and we're living in this modern age of computers.
06:34Or are we?
06:35Are computers that new?
06:385,000 years ago, a man in Babylon invented one of these.
06:47Anybody know what it's called?
06:50Nobody?
06:51You do.
06:52Shout out.
06:53An abacus.
06:53An abacus.
06:54That's right.
06:56First time I saw one of these, it was stuck on the side of me cot.
07:01However, the first abacuses weren't like this.
07:04They were lines drawn on the floor with pebbles pushed along the lines.
07:08But this type is used still today in China and Japan, and some Chinese restaurants.
07:13You just flick the beads up and down.
07:17And this is a digital computer.
07:20And an expert working on one of these can work just as fast as someone with a modern electronic calculator.
07:27There we are.
07:28Oh, look at that.
07:30Now, that's a digital computer.
07:33But another type of computer has been around a long time.
07:36It's called an analogue computer.
07:39A weathercock.
07:48How's the weathercock?
07:49Hmm.
07:50A weathercock is a sort of analogue computer because it receives information in the wind.
07:56It calculates where it's coming from and then turns to face the wind to give a result.
08:05So a weathercock is an analogue computer.
08:08So, about 170 years ago, a man called James Watt invented one of these.
08:18A steam engine.
08:19Perhaps a more important invention than that was one of the things he stuck on his steam engine.
08:33It's called the governor, and it regulates the speed of the steam engine.
08:40If the machine goes faster, the balls spin out due to centrifugal force.
08:46And as they spin out, they close down a valve, and the machine slows down.
08:52The balls drop down again, and the machine goes on at a regular pace.
08:57So the governor regulates the speed.
09:01And as such, it's an analogue computer.
09:10Now, a man has invented many computers.
09:12The oldest wasn't operated by wind or steam.
09:16It was operated by the sun.
09:18There are many ancient megalithic sites scattered around the world.
09:41And one of the biggest and oldest is Stonehenge.
09:51Stonehenge is surrounded in myth and legend.
09:54But the facts that are known about Stonehenge are quite incredible.
09:59The large stones weigh about 26 tonnes.
10:02And many of them are still standing today.
10:04And they've been standing for three and a half thousand years.
10:10But long before that, 2,000 years before those stones arrived,
10:14there was a Stonehenge site laid out long before the Egyptian pyramids.
10:19What we do know about Stonehenge is that if you align certain stones,
10:25you can measure the length of the year.
10:27You can measure the seasons, and you can measure the period of the months.
10:32So whatever else it might have been, Stonehenge was and still is a gigantic and very ancient computer.
10:40So much for ancient computers.
10:45What about modern computers?
10:47How do they work?
10:48Let's have a game.
10:49There's a few of you at the front with some chalk.
10:51Can you come out, please?
10:52And I have here some paper, so I'm going to roll out.
10:59Gather round.
11:03There we are.
11:05Now, that holds that down there.
11:07What we've got here is four lines.
11:09A, B, C and D.
11:11So you can be A, you can be B, you can be C, and you can be D.
11:16All right.
11:17Couldn't think.
11:18Right.
11:19Now, at the end of one of the lines, there's a star.
11:21And the object of the game is to have your line linked to the star at the end.
11:27And at the moment, C's winning.
11:29Somebody got an extra piece of chalk.
11:31I'll show you how we play the game.
11:33When it's your go, you can join any two lines together.
11:39For instance, I might join those two.
11:44I've joined A to C.
11:47Well, I haven't really joined them.
11:48And what I've done is switched them.
11:50Because that's what a computer does.
11:51It switches all the time.
11:53So now, line C comes down here.
11:56At the junction, it comes across here.
11:58And then it goes down there.
11:59And line A comes down here, goes across there, and continues down towards the star.
12:04So at the moment, line A is winning the game.
12:08Do you understand?
12:09And when you cross another line with your line, that doesn't count.
12:12It's only the junctions where you turn.
12:15Right?
12:16I've played.
12:17I'm going to cover that up.
12:19See, I can play even though I haven't got a line.
12:21I'm not going to win, though.
12:22And A, come and join two lines.
12:25Any two you like.
12:30Those two.
12:31Righto.
12:31And we cover that up straight away so the others can't remember it.
12:33B, come on.
12:35Join two lines.
12:35Any two you like.
12:38Those two.
12:39Fine.
12:39Cover that up.
12:40I'm going to have another go, I think.
12:41I know what I do.
12:42I join.
12:45Those two.
12:46Cover that up.
12:47C.
12:47Come on, quick.
12:48Keep up with the game.
12:49Come on down here.
12:50You join two lines.
12:51Those two.
12:52OK.
12:52Cover it up.
12:53And D.
12:55Come and join two lines.
12:59Cover that up.
13:01Fine.
13:02Now, we don't know who's won the game.
13:04We don't know who's connected to the star.
13:06But the paper has acted just like a computer.
13:09It's memorised every switch.
13:11And when we unroll the paper,
13:13we'll find the switches are there.
13:18And all we have to do is trace back from the star to see who's won.
13:22So, it goes up here.
13:24Ah, a junction.
13:25Comes across here.
13:27Up there.
13:27Another junction.
13:28Across here.
13:29Up there.
13:30Another one.
13:31Right across.
13:32Up here.
13:34Another junction.
13:35Across here.
13:36Up here.
13:37And across there.
13:40To there.
13:40So, the winner is A.
13:43Who was A?
13:43You were?
13:44Congratulations.
13:45You've won yourself a free walk to Stonehenge.
13:48All right?
13:48Give the others a round of applause.
13:50That was mine.
13:50Lovely.
13:50It's a very simple game.
13:58But it's a game you can play at home.
13:59All you need is a piece of paper and some pencils.
14:02That, however, sort of shows how computers memorise things by remembering a lot of switches.
14:09But how do they work out problems?
14:11Perhaps I can show that with a pack of cards.
14:14Take a card.
14:15Any card you like.
14:16Look at it.
14:16Don't show me.
14:17All right.
14:19I've got the card there.
14:21I don't know what that card is.
14:22I'm going to ask you one question each.
14:25And the answer will be yes or no.
14:27If the answer is yes, show a one.
14:29If the answer is no, show a nought.
14:31Okay?
14:32And here we go.
14:34The first one.
14:35Is it a red card?
14:38Yes.
14:39Now I know it's red.
14:40Can you keep your card held up?
14:41Is it a heart?
14:43Yes.
14:44That's upside down.
14:45But it's all right.
14:46Okay.
14:47I know it's a heart.
14:48Is it between one and six?
14:51Yes.
14:51That's upside down as well.
14:52So I know it's from one to six.
14:54Is it from one to three?
14:58No.
14:58So I know it's four, five, or six of hearts.
15:01Is it the four of hearts?
15:03No.
15:04Is it the five of hearts?
15:06Yes.
15:07Is it the six of hearts?
15:08Of course it's not.
15:10It's the five.
15:11And that arrangement of ones and noughts would only occur to the five of hearts.
15:17And that's how a computer works out problems.
15:21Put your cards down.
15:22Thanks very much.
15:23The only thing is, when computers do it, they tend to do it a little more quickly than we did it then.
15:28The fastest computer can perform 560 million operations in a second.
15:37Not only that.
15:40Computers are getting smaller and smaller and smaller.
15:43With transistors and microchips.
15:47They've got so small.
15:48Hang on, I'll show you this.
15:50Can't find it.
15:50Oh, here it is.
15:52It's not quite that small.
15:54This is a chip from a computer.
15:58It's just five millimetres square.
16:02And it's equivalent to 7,000 transistors.
16:06And it can perform 200,000 operations in a second.
16:13Now, 30 years ago, to build a computer that could perform those functions would have needed a room that size and all that electronic gadgetry.
16:28And computers are full of chips like this.
16:31So the biggest computers have got incredible brains.
16:35The largest one has got a vocabulary of about 70 billion binary words,
16:40which is about 7,000 times as many words as any one of us can keep in our memory.
16:46It's an enormous vocabulary.
16:47And talking about vocabularies, have a look at this.
16:49It's a fairly new type of computer, which is just something slightly different.
17:01It can talk.
17:03Are you any good at spelling?
17:05Well, we'll try.
17:06Listen to what it says.
17:07It allows you to spell something.
17:08Spell angel.
17:12A-N-G-E-L
17:18And you press the enter button.
17:19That is correct.
17:20Now spell world.
17:23Let me have a go at this.
17:24World.
17:25W-O-U-R-L-D.
17:35You are correct.
17:48Next spell lose.
17:50Learn.
17:51Well, it will go on asking you to spell new words for quite a long time.
17:57And it chooses those words at random from its memory.
18:00Have a look at the inside of one of those computers.
18:05There it is.
18:07If you have any kind of calculator, don't try and take it apart, because you'll probably
18:11make quite a mess of it.
18:15I've turned it on.
18:17Now, this is the business of the computer.
18:20This is what does all the work.
18:22These two here, these chips, are the memory chips that store all the words.
18:26And this is called the microprocessor.
18:29It notes which keys you press.
18:32It then takes the relevant information from the memory, works all the puzzle out, and then
18:38passes the information to the readout here.
18:41But it also passes the information to this chip here.
18:44And this is the special one in this case, because this one turns it into verbal language.
18:50It's not a tape.
18:52It's not a real voice.
18:54It's a computerised voice.
18:56And it sounds a little American, doesn't it?
18:59Well, there's a British one coming out very, very soon.
19:03However, this is just a toy.
19:05And if toys are this complicated, imagine how complicated modern industrial computers can be.
19:13This is a computer that works very like a tape deck.
19:21You've got a tape with the information.
19:23You put it in there.
19:32What this computer has been asked to do is to draw a triangle and then spin it through an ellipse
19:39to produce a design or a pattern.
19:43And it does it.
19:47Now, watch this.
19:50If I take the tape out, it still carries on.
19:55That's because all it took from the tape was the information on how to do it in the first place.
20:00After that, it's working on its own initiative, using its own brain to work out new designs.
20:06And it will continue doing that until somebody kicks the plug out.
20:10Over here, we've got another computer.
20:14In fact, all these computers are linked.
20:16This computer has got a different sort of screen.
20:18And it can do different problems.
20:22Some kind of building.
20:24Actually, it's a bus station.
20:25It's been designed.
20:30The kind of people who buy bus stations are councils.
20:33But, of course, they want to know what they're getting for their money.
20:37And this computer can help.
20:39For instance, a councillor might say,
20:41Oh, it's very nice, that.
20:43But what's it going to look like at night?
20:45So, with the help of these keys, you can darken the sky until it's night time.
20:57Or lighten it again.
20:58Or you can change the colour of the tiles.
21:00It looks like it's been snowing.
21:09It does now.
21:11So, this computer is capable of thousands of thousands of different jobs.
21:17About 150 years ago, man developed machines to assist his muscle.
21:22Things to ride in.
21:23Things to dig.
21:24Lift things.
21:25Carry things.
21:26Now, man has designed machines to assist his brain power.
21:32And in future, the very near future,
21:35computers will be able to answer every question we can dream of asking.
21:40And they may even start asking questions and giving answers
21:43to questions that we've never thought of asking.
21:47Let's have a trick.
21:50I've got some cards here.
21:52Split those cards into two piles.
21:54Give me one of them.
21:57No, one pile.
21:59Fine.
22:00And from the others, select a card.
22:07Right.
22:07Look at it.
22:08And I want you to put it in the pack.
22:10Hang on.
22:12I want you to put it there.
22:13Right.
22:14Take those back.
22:15And I want you now to...
22:17Can you come round here?
22:19Take the cards.
22:20Hold them face downwards.
22:21Take the top card and put it underneath.
22:24Do it in your hand.
22:26That's right.
22:27Throw the top one away.
22:29Put the top card underneath.
22:32Throw the next one away.
22:34Top card underneath.
22:36Throw the next one away.
22:38Top card underneath.
22:40Throw the next one away.
22:41And you're left with your card.
22:48Oh, thank goodness for that.
22:50Thanks ever so much.
22:52If you'd like to know how to do that trick, drop me a line.
22:54Johnny Ball.
22:55Think of a number.
22:56BBC Television.
22:57London W1A 1AA.
22:59Well, I can tell you it's something to do with binary numbers.
23:03So, really, it's a bit like a computer.
23:06But you have to know how to work it.
23:08And that's what computers are all about.
23:10They're our servants.
23:11And they should be there for us to use as and when we want to use them.
23:15Because computers must never take the place of us human beings.
23:19Goodbye, I don't even know.
23:20Of us human beings.
23:21Goodbye, I don't even know.
23:22Of us human beings.
23:23Goodbye, I don't even know.
23:23Of us human beings.
23:24Goodbye, I don't even know.
23:25Bye, I don't even know.
23:26Bye, bye.
23:28Bye, bye.
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