According to statistics, the number of computers on our planet exceeds two billion, and this figure is increasing every day. Now it is difficult to imagine the modern world without computers and programmable devices. Every day we start a computer for work, communication, entertainment, use smartphones, tablets and other smart devices. All these devices are the result of the continuous development of computer technology. How did it all begin? What was the very first computer in the world? In this article we will delve a little deeper into the history of computing.

The history of the world's first computer

ENIAC was the first electronic device that could be programmed to solve mathematical problems. ENIAC was created in 1943 at the University of Pennsylvania for the US Army. It was developed by computer scientist John Presper Eckert and physicist-engineer John William Mauchly.

The main task of the ENIAC computer was to calculate ballistic firing tables, which were extremely necessary for artillerymen during the war. The shooting tables contained information about the distance to the target, sight adjustments and other important calculations. Before the appearance the world's first computer, these tables were compiled by clerks using adding machines. One clerk, or “calculator,” could compile such a table in 4 (!) years.

Naturally, to solve such a problem, a fairly powerful device was needed. In April 1943, the “Electronic Diff. analyzer”, later ENIAC, was presented at the Ballistic Laboratory conference. After the project was approved, more than 60 thousand US dollars were allocated for the creation of ENIAC.

From 1943 to 1945, active development of ENIAC took place under the command of Eckert and Mauchly. . Development was completed in 1945, when the need for artillery tables disappeared, because. the war was over. The United States decided to use ENIAC for calculations when creating thermonuclear weapons, aviation, and even weather forecasts. The United States spent 486 thousand dollars on the creation of ENIAC.

Specifications

This “monster” weighed 27 tons, consumed 174 kW of energy, and could perform 5 thousand addition operations, or multiply numbers 357 times per second. It operated at a frequency of 100 KHz and had a memory capacity of 20 number-slots. It is worth noting that the computer worked in the decimal number system.

ENIAC consisted of seventeen thousand vacuum tubes, about seven thousand diodes, 1,500 relays, 70,000 resistors and ten thousand capacitors. The breakdown of at least one lamp or diode meant a breakdown of the entire system. This device worked without transistors, because at that time they did not yet exist.

Programming such a computer was a very difficult task. For more than a week, engineers could develop calculations that the machine performed in 5 minutes. Due to frequent breakdowns, lamp burnouts and overheating, ENIAC could operate for no more than 20 hours at a time, performing a large amount of work.

Bottom line

ENIAC is a computer developed for military purposes that made major breakthroughs in computer engineering. Electronics and computers began to actively develop thanks to ENIAC. Now we are sitting at a small laptop, or holding a smartphone in our hands and don’t even think that the “ancestor” of this device was a device that occupied an area of ​​200 m2 and weighed as much as a tram.

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