The 8085 microprocessor is a programmable device that takes in binary data, performs arithmetic or logical operations according to instructions stored in memory, and produces results. It uses registers like the accumulator, program counter, stack pointer, and general purpose registers. Memory, including ROM and RAM, stores instructions and data for the microprocessor. Assembly language uses mnemonics like "INR A" and "ADD B" to represent machine code instructions in a more readable way.