Microprocessors became widely used in which generation of computers?

Computer generations are defined by the core electronic technology used to build them: the first generation used vacuum tubes, the second used transistors, and the third used integrated circuits, where many transistors were combined onto a single chip.

The fourth generation pushed integration much further with the invention of the microprocessor, a single chip that packs an entire central processing unit onto one piece of silicon. This breakthrough, which began in the early 1970s, is what allowed microprocessors to become widely and practically used, making computers smaller, cheaper, and available for personal and everyday use for the first time.

The third generation is easy to confuse with the fourth because both involve integrated circuits, but the third generation used separate chips for different circuit functions, while the fourth generation is specifically defined by the arrival of the single-chip microprocessor.