The World's Largest Computer in 1951

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the ENIAC, the world's first general-purpose electronic computer, which stood 10 feet tall, occupied 1,000 square feet, and weighed approximately 30 tons. It utilized over 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors, 6,000 switches, and 18,000 vacuum tubes, consuming 150 kilowatts of power. Additionally, the conversation shifts to the Russian Ekranoplan, a Ground Effect Vehicle developed by Rostislav Alekseev, which could travel over 400 km/h and weighed 540 tons fully loaded. The Ekranoplan was designed for military transport and could carry over 100 tonnes of cargo.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of electronic components such as resistors and capacitors
  • Familiarity with the concept of Ground Effect Vehicles
  • Knowledge of military transport technologies
  • Basic historical context of computing technology development
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the technical specifications and historical significance of the ENIAC
  • Explore the design and operational principles of Ground Effect Vehicles
  • Investigate the military applications of the Ekranoplan
  • Learn about the evolution of computing technology post-ENIAC
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for historians, technology enthusiasts, and engineers interested in the evolution of computing and transport technologies, particularly those focused on military applications and early electronic devices.

  • #961
Gokul43201 said:
This is not the guy that came up with DDT, is it ? I think not...and I'm off.
No, not the DDT guy.
 
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  • #962
zoobyshoe said:
During the conflict, he sometimes resorted to using old window panes.

Some pioneer of photography perhaps?
 
  • #963
brewnog said:
Some pioneer of photography perhaps?
That certainly makes sense. Photos were done on glass plates. That 'Brownie' guy that the Kodak/Brownie camera was named for? Or George Eastman? Maybe even earlier than that.
 
  • #964
Danger said:
That certainly makes sense. Photos were done on glass plates. That 'Brownie' guy that the Kodak/Brownie camera was named for? Or George Eastman? Maybe even earlier than that.

I like the idea of the de Guerre guy, but only because his name is a type of conflict.
 
  • #965
brewnog said:
I like the idea of the de Guerre guy, but only because his name is a type of conflict.
I know who you mean. Not him.
 
  • #966
zoobyshoe said:
I know who you mean. Not him.
Do I take this to mean that the photography part is right, and we just need a name?
 
  • #967
Danger said:
Do I take this to mean that the photography part is right, and we just need a name?
You can take it to mean it isn't that guy. That is all.
 
  • #968
Talbot? Morse?

I think I need another clue.
 
  • #969
Ooh, Archer!
 
  • #970
During the conflict, he sometimes resorted to using old window panes scavenged from destroyed houses.
 
  • #971
brewnog said:
Talbot? Morse?

brewnog said:
Ooh, Archer!
None of these.
 
  • #972
zoobyshoe said:
During the conflict, he sometimes resorted to using old window panes scavenged from destroyed houses.
I'll go back to my original train of thought then, but I don't think it's right. All that comes to mind is a war-time doctor who might have used glass for scalpels.
 
  • #973
"The conflict" was none other than "The War Of Northern Agression."
 
  • #974
zoobyshoe said:
"The conflict" was none other than "The War Of Northern Agression."
I'm out then. I've never heard that term. To me, it could mean your Civil War, or the Korean conflict, Viet Nam... anything with north and south sides.
 
  • #975
I'm out too, but you knew that. :smile:
 
  • #976
I can't find anything.
 
  • #977
"I wish that I was in the land of cotton
Old times there, are not forgotten,
Look away...
Look away...
Look away...
*****land!
 
  • #978
zoobyshoe said:
"I wish that I was in the land of cotton
Old times there, are not forgotten,
Look away...
Look away...
Look away...
*****land!
Right! Dixie Cups! I forgot that they used to be made out of glass.
 
  • #979
So far it has something to do with the Civil War or the American South (The War of Northern Aggression I've now learned is what the Southerners call the Civil War...I never knew that before having always lived north of the Mason Dixon line). I can't find anything about scavenging of window panes other than in the general sense that everything was scavenged.
 
  • #980
Moonbear said:
So far it has something to do with the Civil War
Well, my curiosity must wait. Bed time. See you tomorrow.
 
  • #981
Mathew B. Brady?
 
  • #982
Ivan Seeking said:
Mathew B. Brady?
BINGO!

Mathew Brady, the most famous photographic chronicler of the Civil War. 90% of Civil War pictures you have seen were by Brady.
 
  • #983
What was the Dixieland clue? Or was this just in reference to the Civil War?
 
  • #984
Ivan Seeking said:
What was the Dixieland clue? Or was this just in reference to the Civil War?
Yeah, that was because no one seemed to have heard of "The War of Northern Agression". Just saying "Civil War" would have been too easy.
 
  • #985
It is estimated that over 1400 anti-aircraft rounds were fired in this little known California event. After all, there was a war on!
 
  • #986
Ivan Seeking said:
It is estimated that over 1400 anti-aircraft rounds were fired in this little known California event. After all, there was a war on!
I believe you are referring to what might be called "The Battle of Los Angeles" when an air raid by the Japanese on that city was bravely repelled, despite the absense of any actual Japanese planes.

California Military History: California and World War II
Address:http://www.militarymuseum.org/HistoryWWII.html
 
  • #987
Correct!

Edit: This is an actual photo of the object that wasn't there.

http://brumac.8k.com/BATTLEOFLA/BattleofLAFig1.jpg
http://brumac.8k.com/BATTLEOFLA/BattleofLA.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #988
"...mounted on a block of concrete that floated in a cylindrical, brick-enclosed trough of mercury."
 
  • #989
zoobyshoe said:
"...mounted on a block of concrete that floated in a cylindrical, brick-enclosed trough of mercury."

This sounds to me like some kind of bearing for something big and heavy. A telescope?
 
  • #990
zoobyshoe said:
"...mounted on a block of concrete that floated in a cylindrical, brick-enclosed trough of mercury."
I believe I was told about this last winter, when I was visiting folks in the Bay Area. I think it was something about the fort below the GG Bridge. Some kind of terrestrial telescope (copied that off of brew), perhaps ?
 

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