place

Whirlwind I

16-bit computers1940s computers1950s computers1951 establishments in MassachusettsCold War military computer systems of the United States
Computer-related introductions in 1951Magnetic-core memory computersMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyOne-of-a-kind computersReal-time computingVacuum tube computers
Museum of Science, Boston, MA IMG 3168
Museum of Science, Boston, MA IMG 3168

Whirlwind I was a Cold War-era vacuum tube computer developed by the MIT Servomechanisms Laboratory for the U.S. Navy. Operational in 1951, it was among the first digital electronic computers that operated in real-time for output, and the first that was not simply an electronic replacement of older mechanical systems. It was one of the first computers to calculate in parallel (rather than serial), and was the first to use magnetic-core memory. Its development led directly to the Whirlwind II design used as the basis for the United States Air Force SAGE air defense system, and indirectly to almost all business computers and minicomputers in the 1960s, particularly because of the mantra "short word length, speed, people."

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Whirlwind I (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Whirlwind I
Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge Cambridgeport

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Whirlwind IContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 42.361666666667 ° E -71.096666666667 °
placeShow on map

Address

Massachusetts Avenue 209;211
02238 Cambridge, Cambridgeport
Massachusetts, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Museum of Science, Boston, MA IMG 3168
Museum of Science, Boston, MA IMG 3168
Share experience

Nearby Places

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) is one of the five schools of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. The school has over 20 departments, department-level programs, and faculties granting SB, SM, and PhD degrees. Major fields of study include anthropology, comparative media studies, economics, history, linguistics, literature, music, philosophy, political science, and theater arts. Other programs include the Center for International Studies; Knight Science Journalism; Science, Technology, and Society; Security Studies; and HyperStudio (digital humanities).In 2018, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings rated MIT the #2 university for arts and humanities.As of 2017, the Dean of the School is Professor Melissa Nobles, and with over 200 faculty members, 330 graduate students, and 109 undergraduate majors and 161 minors, the school is the fourth largest at MIT. All MIT undergraduates must take at least 8 semesters of courses (approximately 25% of total classroom time) in SHASS as part of the General Institute Requirements for a diploma, and those minoring or majoring within the School undertake additional studies and projects.As of 2017, 4 Nobel Laureates, 7 MacArthur Fellows, and 4 Pulitzer Prize winners were members of the SHASS faculty. Additionally, 2 National Medal of Science awardees, 11 National Academy of Sciences Fellows, 57 American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows, 40 Guggenheim Fellowships, and 5 John Bates Clark Medalists are associated with SHASS.In March 2017, MIT announced the new Theater Arts Building (Building W97) located at 345 Vassar Street at the far western end of campus. Constructed in a completely renovated former warehouse, the facility consolidates the performance and design spaces of a new academic major in Theater Arts, which was established in 2015. The building's 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) includes a two-story, 180-seat, multimedia-equipped performance space which can be reconfigured for each use; as well as a rehearsal studio, dressing rooms, and set and costume makerspaces.