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Mega-processor
- What ? The Mega-processor is a micro-processor built large. Very large.
- How ? Like all modern processors the Mega-processor is built from transistors. It's just that instead of using teeny-weeny ones integrated on a silicon chip it uses discrete individual ones like those below. Thousands of them. And loads of LEDs.
- Why ? - short answer : Because I want to.
- Why ? - long answer : Computers are quite opaque, looking at them it's impossible to see how they work. What I would like to do is get inside and see what's going on. Trouble is we can't shrink down small enough to walk inside a silicon chip. But we can go the other way; we can build the thing big enough that we can walk inside it. Not only that we can also put LEDs on everything so we can actually SEE the data moving and the logic happening. It's going to be great.
- Where ? Here. Cambridge.
- Who ? Me. James
- When ? I was shooting for the end of 2014. But that was fantasy. It's turned out to be quite a project, things seem to have got a tad out of hand. Easter 2015. Summer 2015. If you want an update one where I'm up to there's a diary of sorts here. (Last update 21st June 2015)
- So how big will it be ? Well an 8-bit adder is about a foot long (I use five of these):
- And the whole thing ? Well according to my current plans, if I ever finish the soldering, and if I can ever find a room big enough for the Mega-processor to properly unfurl its wings, then it will look roughly like this:
Artist's Impression
As of 20th June 2015 we have our first three frames: