Semiconductor & Computer Engineering
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Difference between revisions of "relay computer"
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== Overview == | == Overview == | ||
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| + | The idea of using [[relay]]s to realize [[logic circuit]]s was not new even in the 1920s. However it was not until the late 1930s that actual full-scale computers and calculators were developed. However, it was not until the end of [[wikipedia:World War II|World War II]] that a large number of systems were built. | ||
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| + | The choice of using relays instead of [[vacuum tube]] boiled down to cost and availability. Standard telephone relays were already in wide use and were considerably cheaper than any other alternative, albeit slow and power hungry. It's for those exact reasons that the earliest digital computers went with relays. | ||
== Relay Systems== | == Relay Systems== | ||
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| [[Z4]] || [[Konrad Zuse]] || [[Zuse Apparatebau]] || 2,500 || 1944 || | | [[Z4]] || [[Konrad Zuse]] || [[Zuse Apparatebau]] || 2,500 || 1944 || | ||
| − | |- | + | |- |
| {{bell|Model III}} || || [[Bell Labs]] || 1,400 || 1944 || | | {{bell|Model III}} || || [[Bell Labs]] || 1,400 || 1944 || | ||
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Revision as of 18:28, 17 December 2015
A relay computer is a computer system built primarily using relays and relay logic.
Overview
 |
This section requires expansion; you can help adding the missing info. |
The idea of using relays to realize logic circuits was not new even in the 1920s. However it was not until the late 1930s that actual full-scale computers and calculators were developed. However, it was not until the end of World War II that a large number of systems were built.
The choice of using relays instead of vacuum tube boiled down to cost and availability. Standard telephone relays were already in wide use and were considerably cheaper than any other alternative, albeit slow and power hungry. It's for those exact reasons that the earliest digital computers went with relays.
Relay Systems
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
| System | Developer | Company/Institution | Relay Count | Year Complete | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model K | George Stibitz | Bell Labs | 1937 | ||
| Model I | George Stibitz | Bell Labs | 400 | 1939 | |
| Z2 | Konrad Zuse | 600 | 1939 | ||
| Z3 | Konrad Zuse | 2,000 | 1941 | ||
| Model II | Bell Labs | 440 | 1943 | ||
| Z4 | Konrad Zuse | Zuse Apparatebau | 2,500 | 1944 | |
| Model III | Bell Labs | 1,400 | 1944 | ||
| Harvard Mark I | Howard Aiken | IBM | 3,500 | 1944 | |
| Model IV | Bell Labs | 1400 | 1945 | ||
| Model V | Bell Labs | 9,000 | 1946 | ||
| Harvard Mark II | Howard Aiken | IBM | 1947 | ||
| SSEC | IBM | 21,400 | 1948 | vacuum tubes & relays hybrid | |
| Model VI | Bell Labs | 1950 | |||
| BARK | Matematikmaskinnämnden | 8,000 | 1950 | ||
| Mark I | Electrotechnical Laboratory | 1952 | |||
| Z5 | Konrad Zuse | Zuse KG | 2,500 | 1953 | |
| FACOM 100 | Fujitsu | 1954 | |||
| Z11 | Konrad Zuse | Zuse KG | 1,665 | 1955 | |
| Mark II | Electrotechnical Laboratory | 22,253 | 1955 |
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This article is still a stub and needs your attention. You can help improve this article by editing this page and adding the missing information. |