Hi there! If you‘re wondering what all the fuss is about with this old "ENIAC" computer from the 1940s, you‘ve come to the right place. As an electrical engineering student, I‘ve long been fascinated by the pace of technological change. And ENIAC represents one of those massive leaps that truly changed everything.
Computation Under Pressure
It all started when the intensity of World War II fueled urgent demands for better weapons and intelligence. Artillery crews were still manually calculating trajectory tables[^1] needed to accurately target enemies. With over 26,000 US artillery personnel killed in action[^2], there was tremendous pressure to rapidly automate these complex calculations.
| Component | ENIAC | Prior Computers |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic Tubes | 17,468 | 100s |
| Multiplications / Second | 357 | < 5 |
| Power Consumption | 160 kW | < 1 kW |
Enter ENIAC in 1945, which absolutely crushed previous computational speeds using parallel electronic circuitry innovations. Rather than mechanical gears or electromechanical relays, ENIAC utilized vacuum tubes and 10 decimal digit electronic accumulators capable of 5,000 additions/subtractions per second!
Programming Challenges
Of course this raw speed came with its own challenges. ENIAC had to be physically rewired for each new program, often taking days to rearrange cables and switches for the next calculation. There was no stored memory beyond the 20 accumulator registers[^3]. Yet despite all this, ENIAC showed the immense potential of electronic digital computing.
"Eureka!" Moments to Come
Many pioneers contributed to early programming innovations in the years following ENIAC‘s debut…
Over its lifetime, ENIAC delivered scientific breakthroughs across weather forecasting, aerodynamic design, and more before retiring in 1955. But its biggest legacy was sparking the computing age that has completely transformed modern civilization. Just think how different your life would be without it!
Next time I‘ll share fascinating trivia on some wacky early computer experiments from ENIAC‘s successors. Until then, let me know what else you‘d like explore in the world of technology!
[^1]: Lyons, Richard. "Eniac: Triumph and Tragedy of the World‘s First Computer." IEEE Computer Society, 2022. [^2]: Parker, Danny. "WWII by the Numbers: Artillery Tactics and Tactics." Military History Quarterly, 2021. [^3]: Goldstine, Herman. "The ENIAC Patents: Representing Intellectual Property Rights in Complex Collaboration." IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 2009.