ENIAC

In 1943, WWII was well underway, and one of the important issues was to develop predictions for the trajectories of bombs and shells. The Ordnance Ballistic Research Laboratories was able to use a Bush Differential Analyzer but needed more programmability and dependability than the analyzer was able to provide. The lab proposed a larger, more powerful, and fully electronic machine. The resulting machine was begun in 1943 and completed and installed in 1946, and it became a significant breakthrough in computer technology.

Like the analyzer, the ENIAC filled a room, but unlike the analyzer there were no moving parts involved in solving equations. Instead, the machine used more than 17,000 tubes.

The tubes represented "gates" that worked in much the same manner transistors work in contemporary computers. In this case, the tubes represented "and" gates "or" gates and "flip flops."

The computer was programmed by connecting these gates with patch cords or switches. Next

The Ordnance Ballistic Research Laboratories at Aberdeen Proving Grounds has provided an excellent history of the ENIAC Computer.

Looking like something out of a 1950s SciFi movie, this represents a single panel of the ENIAC.