Bloom Scroll

How a computer works

How do switches become programs, pictures and operating systems?

10 videos, about 4 h 21 min. Watch in order, or jump to a timestamp.

  1. 1

    Introductory, Built from scratch, 18 min

    Exploring How Computers Work

    • Represent quantities with binary states.
    • Combine simple logic gates into operations.
    • Separate a simulated circuit from the behaviour it implements.

    Jump to 3:03 logical building blocks in the simulation, 5:12 place value and binary counting

  2. 2

    Introductory, How it works inside, 27 min

    How do Transistors Build into a CPU? How do Transistors Work?

    • Treat a transistor as a controllable electrical component.
    • Build logic from standard cells of connected transistors.
    • Understand a processor as a hierarchy of increasingly large circuit blocks.

    Jump to 1:09 transistors as building blocks, 1:22 standard cells

  3. 3

    Introductory, How it works inside, 36 min

    How does Computer Memory Work?

    • Distinguish working memory from long-term storage.
    • Encode stored bits in physical memory cells.
    • Follow data as it moves between storage, memory and processor caches.

    Jump to 0:27 why programs load into dram, 1:45 one bit per memory cell

  4. 4

    Intermediate, Built from scratch, 14 min

    8-bit computer RAM intro

    • Organize stored bits into addressable locations.
    • Separate address, data and control signals.
    • Understand how read and write operations change circuit state.

    Jump to 0:20 enable and clock signals for stored bits, 1:30 eight-bit inputs and outputs

  5. 5

    Introductory, How it works inside, 29 min

    How do Graphics Cards Work? Exploring GPU Architecture

    • Appreciate the scale of parallel calculation in a GPU.
    • Compare GPU and CPU design priorities.
    • Understand why graphics memory matters to computation.

    Jump to 1:12 the scale of gpu calculation, 2:11 graphics memory and comparing gpus with cpus

  6. 6

    Introductory, Lecture, 27 min

    AT&T Archives: The UNIX Operating System

    • Separate operating-system responsibilities from applications.
    • Distinguish the kernel from the shell.
    • Connect files and small tools to a programming environment.

    Jump to 1:10 a good programming environment, 5:00 kernel and shell

  7. 7

    Intermediate, Built from scratch, 24 min

    Compilers, How They Work, And Writing Them From Scratch

    • Separate source-language structure from execution.
    • Identify the parser and intermediate representation inside a compiler.
    • Connect compiler output to a virtual machine.

    Jump to 0:21 virtual machines and the example compiler, 1:00 parser and intermediate representation

  8. 8

    Intermediate, Derivation, 20 min

    Fast Inverse Square Root — A Quake III Algorithm

    • Recognize why inverse square roots matter in graphics.
    • Use an approximate starting answer.
    • Refine the approximation with Newton’s method.

    Jump to 2:56 why approximate the inverse square root, 17:30 refining with newton’s method

  9. 9

    Intermediate, Built from scratch, 50 min

    Coding Adventure: Software Rasterizer

    • Turn triangles into pixels.
    • Add perspective to projected geometry.
    • Resolve visibility using depth information.

    Jump to 2:09 drawing the first triangles, 15:28 adding perspective

  10. 10

    Intermediate, Built from scratch, 17 min

    How do computers do it?

    • Model a camera image by firing rays into a scene.
    • Compute where rays intersect simple shapes.
    • Build up shading from light, reflection and bounce limits.

    Jump to 0:54 defining a ray, 1:15 bouncing rays with the law of reflection