What is the first computer? - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

20 Jun 1998

...
  Allison J Parent wrote:
><> Mechanical: man or motor powered, bars cams, wheels
><> Electric:   Relays, steppers, solonoids and contacts has logic tree.
><> Electronic: uses active devices, tubes, transistors, ICs some types of
>>          diodes and neon filled tubes.
><A good definition, I could agree, althrough I've seen
><Electric and Electronic the same, since a relay isn't
><diferent from a transistor or a tube for the effekt
><(beside the current). 
...
 > The distinction for the last two is significant
from a design and speed
> standpoint.  the design process is very different at the detail level. 
...
  Yah, with a relay-based system, a one-hertz clock
speed would be
 setting a record. 
Woooooosh - Your 'record' machine was just bypassed by
a 1941 Zuse build from junk telephone relais.

According to Zuse a multiplication took 3 seconds. A
Multiply nedded 16 Machine cycls and 16/3 equals to
5.33 Hz - just - 5 times faster - calculated on cycles,
but one cyle had 5 stages. Satge 1 to 3 where used for
execution, while 4 and 5 are used for load and fetch - 
the operation fetch ocuresd simultaniously to the store.
So even this early had paralell working units (didn't
tried Intel to tell us that this was one of the big
inventions of the Pentium - you know the processor with
all the little rainbow coloured man inside instead of
the usual LGM)

Althrough the speed was something like 5 or 6 Hz, it
is legal to speak about a clock speed of 15 to 18 Hz
when comparing to newer machines.

And for relay speed itself - 40 to 100 (controlled)
switchings per second have been possible for pre war
relais and EMS relais (technique of the 60s) are able
to do up to 1500 Hz - we tried it 20 years back :)

Gruss
H.

--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK