In a computer's central processing unit (CPU), the accumulator is a register in which intermediate arithmetic logic unit results are stored.
Walther WSR-16 mechanical calculator. The row of digit-wheels in the carriage (at the front), is the Accumulator.
Front panel of an IBM 701 computer with lights displaying the accumulator and other registers
The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by a small team led by Chuck Peddle for MOS Technology. The design team had formerly worked at Motorola on the Motorola 6800 project; the 6502 is essentially a simplified, less expensive and faster version of that design.
A MOS Technology 6502 processor in a DIP-40 plastic package. The four-digit date code indicates it was made in the 45th week (November) of 1985.
Motorola 6800 demonstration board built by Chuck Peddle and John Buchanan in 1974
A 1973 MOS Technology advertisement highlighting their custom integrated circuit capabilities
MOS Technology MCS6501, in white ceramic package, made in late August 1975