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The Central processing unit, or the CPU as it is better known, is a microchip attached to the motherboard. The CPU is commonly referred to as the brain of the computer. The CPU receives input data from the the user then sends out data to the other parts of the computer such as the hard drive and the RAM. The data is then stored either temporarily or permanently. Similarly how the human brain receives information from the senses and the the brain analyzes and stores the information. The CPU is the most important part of any piece of technology that does and computing. Without a CPU a computer is essentially useless.
The first CPU was introduced on November 14, 1971. With the help of Ted Hoff, Intel developed and released the Intel 4004. The Intel 4004 had 2,300 transistors. The first CPU was capable of performed 60,000 operations per second, and cost only $200.00. The development of CPU’s has grown tremendously since 1971. Certain supercomputers, such as the Tianhe-1A have CPU capable of executing over 2.5 quadrillion operations per second. However, average CPU’s can do about 7 billion calculations per second. Though we have come such a long way in only the past 46 years, in the past couple of years CPU development has slowed down substantially due to the limitations of the materials used to construct CPU's.
The CPU is made up of several components that allow it to operate. However, there are really only two essential parts of a CPU. Those parts are the arithmetic logic unit and the control unit. The job of the arithmetic logic unit is to do arithmetic and logic operations. It does so using a binary. The control unit is capable of executing 4 main tasks. It can Fetch from the memory of the computer, decode, execute/ carry out functions, and write-back by displaying the decoded functions.
http://www.computerhope.com/history/processor.htm
https://www.top500.org/featured/systems/tianhe-1a-national-supercomputing-center-in-tianjin/