How does computer memory work?

Answer 1

Computer memory is the short term, high speed storage of a computer.

:A good example of the parts of the computer:

You = CPU

your computer desktop = memory

your computer desk drawers = hard drive

You only have so much usable surface are on the top of the desk so that is constantly being cleaned off (removed from memory) because you can't read papers underneath other papers, and stuff that is not immediately needed is put into the drawers (hard drive). It's all matter of give and take - memory (desktop space) is at a premium (costs way more than the space on a hard drive) but getting stuff from the drawers is slow so you want the most used stuff on the desktop (in memory.) Trade-offs are necessary.

Each program and piece of data takes space, either in memory or on the hard drive.

Computer memory consists of rows and columns of tiny transistors (junction nodes) where electrical energy is at a certain level or it's at zero - say 3v on one transistor that is "on", 0.5v on the next transistor that is "off". Memory is binary - a sequence of 0's and 1' - off or on. It is broken into bits (one 1 or 0), nibbles (4 ones or zeros), bytes (8 ones or zeros) and so on (kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, terabytes, petabytes...)

Another Version:

Binary system, 1 and 0s

That is the language computers understand, there is a complete conversion system, I read it when I was in Grade 3. Cant recall it right now :)

ein general words Computer memory works like a bus(RAM) which collect the people(Data) from one place to their destination(HDD).

when you hit anything from input device like keyboard, mouse .this information carried by the RAM to their destination.now you get the output.It understand the binary function.

When you think about it, it's amazing how many different types of electronic memory you encounter in daily life. Many of them have become an integral part of our vocabulary:

• RAM
• ROM
• Cache
• Dynamic RAM
• Static RAM
• Flash memory
• Memory Sticks
• Virtual memory
• Video memory
• BIOS

You already know that the computer in front of you has memory. What you may not know is that most of the electronic items you use every day have some form of memory also. Here are just a few examples of the many items that use memory:

• Cell phones
• PDAs
• Game consoles
• Car radios
• VCRs
• TVs

In this article, you'll learn why there are so many different types of memory and what all of the terms mean. On the next page, let's start with the basics: What exactly does computer memory do?