Что случилось с ртутными линиями задержки? Трубки с жидким металлом, в которых хранилась память п...

The EDSAC computer represents a pivotal moment in 1949 when early electronic stored program technology first came to life. On May 6, 1949, at the University of Cambridge, Maurice Wilkes and his team successfully ran the first programs on the EDSAC. We examine the hardware behind this machine, which calculated tables of square numbers and prime numbers, marking its place as the second electronic stored program computer. By analyzing these original components, we gain insight into the physical architecture required to run complex calculations during the dawn of the computing era. Beyond the primary machine, we look at documentation related to Project Whirlwind to contrast different approaches to early computing. These artifacts highlight the engineering challenges faced by researchers as they moved away from manual labor toward automated data processing. Observing the construction of these vintage machines allows us to appreciate the foundational logic that defined mid-century systems and the scale of the electronic components that powered early research. Subscribe for more component archaeology and engineering breakdowns. What piece of vintage computing hardware should we feature on the bench next?