On February 14, 1946, the world's first computer, the ENIAC, was born at the University of Pennsylvania.
During World War II, the U.S. military asked Dr. Mauchly and hisstudent Eckert to design an "electronic" computer that used vacuum tubes instead of relays. to design ENIAC
(Electronic?Numerical?Integrator?and?Calculator), an "electronic" computer that used vacuum tubes instead of relays. Electronic?Numerical?Integrator?and?Calculator
),? was intended to be used to calculate the trajectory of artillery shells.? The machine, which used 18,800 vacuum tubes, was 50
feet long and 30 feet wide,? occupies 1,500 square feet and weighs 30 tons (about the size of a classroom and a half and the weight of six elephants
). It was a fast calculator, engaging in 5,000 additions per second, and operated for nine years. Since
it ate electricity ferociously,? it was rumored that every time the ENIAC was switched on, the lights of the entire West Side of Philadelphia were dimmed by it.
In addition, the loss rate of the tubes was quite high, and it was possible to burn out a tube almost every 15 minutes, making it extremely inconvenient to use as the operatorwould have to spend more than 15 minutes trying to locate the broken tube. Someone once quipped, "If that machine can run for five days without a single tube burning out, the inventor is going to be celebrating.
The tubes used in the ENIAC
by the two inventors, Mokhilai and Eckert
.