The clock makes the computer run slowly
At the heart of all computers is a clock, a dedicated timepiece ensuring that all parts of the computer are in sync and can work together to carry out the instructions the computer receives. The clock speeds of most modern commercial computers and smartphones run around a billion cycles per second, and even clocks that spin at a dizzying speed of a million times per second have been around for at least the years. 1970. But there's no reason why a computer couldn't run at a much slower speed, as [Greg] demonstrates in this video where he slows down a 6502 CPU to just one clock cycle per second .
To reduce the clock speed from the megahertz range to a single hertz or a single clock cycle per second, [Greg] uses the pendulum of a real clock. He attaches a small magnet to the bottom of the pendulum which is counted by a sensor as it passes. Feeding this pulse into a one-shot conditioner produces a clock signal that is usable for one of his 6502-based computers, and at this extremely slow rate it is possible to see the workings of many of the internal workings of the computers one step at a time. In fact, he optimized the operation of the computer because this slow speed allowed him to see some inefficiencies in the program he was running.
It helps if your CPU is static, of course. Older processors with dynamic storage for registers and some with limited range PLLs would not work with this technique. The 8080A, for example, required a clock of at least 500kHz.
Not only can this computer use a pendulum clock as the basis for its internal clock, but [Greg] has also implemented a mechanism to use a heartbeat. Doing a little exercise to get your heart rate up first will noticeably increase your computer's speed. And, if you're looking to get a deeper look into the inner workings of a computer, we recommend looking at one that forgoes transistors in favor of relays.
At the heart of all computers is a clock, a dedicated timepiece ensuring that all parts of the computer are in sync and can work together to carry out the instructions the computer receives. The clock speeds of most modern commercial computers and smartphones run around a billion cycles per second, and even clocks that spin at a dizzying speed of a million times per second have been around for at least the years. 1970. But there's no reason why a computer couldn't run at a much slower speed, as [Greg] demonstrates in this video where he slows down a 6502 CPU to just one clock cycle per second .
To reduce the clock speed from the megahertz range to a single hertz or a single clock cycle per second, [Greg] uses the pendulum of a real clock. He attaches a small magnet to the bottom of the pendulum which is counted by a sensor as it passes. Feeding this pulse into a one-shot conditioner produces a clock signal that is usable for one of his 6502-based computers, and at this extremely slow rate it is possible to see the workings of many of the internal workings of the computers one step at a time. In fact, he optimized the operation of the computer because this slow speed allowed him to see some inefficiencies in the program he was running.
It helps if your CPU is static, of course. Older processors with dynamic storage for registers and some with limited range PLLs would not work with this technique. The 8080A, for example, required a clock of at least 500kHz.
Not only can this computer use a pendulum clock as the basis for its internal clock, but [Greg] has also implemented a mechanism to use a heartbeat. Doing a little exercise to get your heart rate up first will noticeably increase your computer's speed. And, if you're looking to get a deeper look into the inner workings of a computer, we recommend looking at one that forgoes transistors in favor of relays.
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