The Incredible Evolution of Computers

Branch Education February 17, 2026
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Branch Education

@brancheducation

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How do Microchips work? How does your smartphone camera work? How does Bluetooth work? At Branch Education, we dive deep into the science, engineering, and technology in our modern world using 3D animation and incredibly detailed models. Founder of Branch Education: Theodore J Tablante Want to support in-depth engineering and technology education? Support us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/brancheducation Modeling is done in Blender 4.2.3 LTS Eevee and Cycles Render Engine, Adobe Premiere, and Reaper

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Go to http://brilliant.org/BranchEducation/ for a 30-day free trial and expand your knowledge. Use this link to get a 20% discount on their annual premium membership. Computers used to be huge, taking up an entire room, yet modern smartphones that fit in your pocket are millions of times more powerful than those room‑sized mainframes. So how did we get from heavy, slow computers to incredibly powerful smartphones? Well, in this video, we’ll explore the evolution of computers over the past 80 years and also look ahead to the future of computing and AI processors. Throughout the video, we’ll focus not just on transistor counts and Moore’s law, but on the fundamental technological shifts between generations of computers. So stick around and let's explore the Evolution of Computers! Table of Contents for The Evolution of Computers 00:00 - The Evolution of Computers 1945-2026 00:57 - Computer Disassembly 02:05 - Much more than Moore's Law 03:30 - The 8 Ages of Computer Evolution 05:12 - Dozens of Zeroes of Processing Power 06:27 - Age 1: Transistorization 08:44 - Age 1: The First Transistorized Computers 09:45 - The Evolution of Computer Memory 11:11 - Brilliant Sponsorship 12:58 - Age 2: Packaging Transistors 15:41 - Age 2: Why are Mainframes So Big? 19:42 - Age 2: The beginning of the Integrated Circuit 22:57 - Age 2: The First CPU 25:30 - How do technology leaders fall behind? 29:55 - Age 3: The Frequency Rage 30:29 - Behind the Scenes 31:51 - The 8 Ages of The Evolution of Computers 33:03 - Thank You to Our Supporters If you want to support our production of the next episodes on the Evolution of Computers, Any contribution would greatly help make these videos. https://www.patreon.com/brancheducation Branch Education Website: https://www.branch.education Branch Education Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BranchEducation/ Primary Animator and Director: Adrei Dulay Secondary Animators: Parvesh Khatri, Sahil Khatri Research, Script and Editing: Teddy Tablante Twitter: @teddytablante Modeling: Prakash Kakadiya & Adrei Dulay Image and Thumbnail Editing: Adrei Dulay & Sahil Khatri Voice Over: Phil Lee Sound Design by Drilu: www.drilu.studio Sound Design and Mix: Luis Huesca Erratum: Attribution: Photo Attribution in Order of Appearance Harvard Mark 1 | Computer. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons​ Colossus Mark 1 | Computer. Bletchley Park. Farai Gandiya. Wikimedia Commons​ The Z3 | Computer. Deutsches Museum, Munich. Venusianer. Wikimedia Commons​ "Victory"|Computer. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons​ 1st-Transistor. Unitronic. Wikimedia Commons​ ​RCA 501| Mainframe. RCA Corporation. Via Computer History Museum​ IBM 7090| Mainframe. NASA. Wikimedia Commons NEAC 2203 | Computer. Statistics Bureau, Japan. NEC. Wikimedia Commons​ Mercury Delay-Line Store of the Univac I Computer. Deutsches Museum, Munich. Tiia Monto. Wikimedia Commons ​ Williams-Kilburn Tube. Manchester Mark I. ArnoldReinhold. Wikimedia Commons​ Left to Right IBM System 360 Model 30| Mainframe. Computer History Museum. ArnoldReinhold. Wikimedia Commons IBM System 360 Model 75|Mainframe. University of Waterloo Archives. Wikimedia Commons​ IBM System 360 Model 91| Mainframe. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons ​ ​ IBM System 360 Model 20 | Mainframe. Oslo Museum. Ørnelund, Leif. Wikimedia Commons​ IBM System 360 Model 25| Mainframe. Vienna. JonnyBrazil. Wikimedia Commons​ IBM System 360 Model 40| Mainframe. Kyoto-Day9. Wikimedia Commons​ IBM System 360 Model 44| Mainframe. Living Computers: Museum+Labs. Wikimedia Commons​ IBM System 360 Model 50| Mainframe. Sandstein. Wikimedia Commons​ IBM System 360 Model 65| Mainframe. Living Computers: Museum+Labs. Wikimedia Commons​ IBM System 360 Model 67| Mainframe. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons​ IBM System 360 Model 85|Mainframe. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons​ IBM System 360 Model 195| Mainframe. German Federal Archive. Wikimedia Commons​ SMIL Drum Memory|Memory. Nixdorf. Wikimedia Commons ​ Apollo Guidance Computer NOR-gate die| IC. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons​ Apollo Guidance Computer| Computer. Steve Jurvetson. Flickr​ ​the 74181 TTL 4 bits ALU schematics. Stéphane Tsacas. Wikimedia Commons​ Altair 8800 | Computer. California. Michael Holley. Wikimedia Commons ​ Sphere 1 | Personal Computer. Ben Zotto. Wikimedia Commons ​ TRS-80 Model 1 | Personal Computer. Prolete. Wikimedia Commons​ TRS-80 Model 1 | Personal Computer. Prolete. Wikimedia Commons​ United States v. International Business Machines Corp. “I.B.M. Antitrust Suit Opens With U.S. Seeking Break‐Up.” New York Times, May 20, 1975, Business & Finance, 53.​ #Computers #HistoryofComputers #HowItWorks

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