What is Microprocessor?
[[File:80486dx2-large.jpg|thumb|right|The 80486 microprocessor, a kind of [[CPU]] from the 1990s]] [[File:KL TI TMS1100.jpg|thumb|The TMS1100, by Texas instruments came out in 1974, and has been used for many applications, such as doorbells or light switches.]] A '''microprocessor''' is an [[electronic component]] that is used by a [[computer]] to do its work. It is a [[central processing unit]] on a single [[integrated circuit]] chip containing millions of very small components including [[transistor]]s, [[resistor]]s, and [[diode]]s that work together. Some microprocessors in the 20th century required several chips. Microprocessors help to do everything from controlling [[elevator]]s to searching the [[internet|Web]]. Everything a computer does is described by instructions of [[computer program]]s, and microprocessors carry out these instructions many millions of times a second. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://computer.howstuffworks.com/microprocessor.htm |title=How Microprocessors Work |author=Marshall Brain |date=2015 |publisher=InfoSpaceLLC |accessdate=27 May 2015}} </ref> Microprocessors were invented in the 1970s for use in [[embedded system]]s. The majority are still used that way, in such things as [[mobile phone]]s, [[car]]s, military [[weapon]]s, and [[home appliance]]s. Some microprocessors are [[microcontroller]]s, so small and inexpensive that they are used to control very simple products like flashlights and greeting cards that play music when opened. A few especially powerful microprocessors are used in [[personal computer]]s. [[TSMC]], [[Intel]], [[Qualcomm]], and [[Samsung]] are considered the biggest chipmakers.<ref>https://www.kyivpost.com/analysis/32614. Retrieved 2024-05-16</ref> == Microprocessor operation == Like other [[central processing unit]]s, microprocessors use three steps commonly called Fetch, Decode, and [[Execution|Execute]]. In the Fetch step, an [[Instruction (computer science)|instruction]] is copied from the [[computer memory]] into the microprocessor. In the Decode step