“Manchester and Early Computers” Christopher P Burton The Computer Conservation Society
“What do you mean - ‘Computer’?” The first Manchester computer - “The Baby” Interlude - what was going on elsewhere The early Manchester computers Replicating “The Baby”
Numerical Tables Books of tables from the 18th century
Early adding machines Pascal 17th c. de Colmar 1824
Charles Babbage Mathematician Philosopher Genius
Analytical Engine CONTROL mechanism “Operations” cards a+ba+b c bc b axbaxb e-ae-a ebeb STORE for numbers MILL arithmetic
Babbage’s Analytical Engine The only fragment ever constructed
Arrival of Electronics Wireless sets Television Radar
Colossus Codebreaking Machine Electronic, very fast 1943, UK Secret!
ENIAC Machine Electronic, very fast 1945, USA Huge
Fixed Program Computer s STORE for numbers CONTROL mechanism MILL arithmetic
Stored Program Computer s STORE for numbers & instructions CONTROL mechanism MILL arithmetic Instructions
What is a True Computer? A list of instructions to manipulate numbers (e.g. “add”, “copy”, “test” or “remember”) to be carried out one instruction after another - “a Program” Instructions are represented by numbers, therefore a program can modify itself Needs a big memory to hold the program and the numbers
Need for Electronic “Memory”
“What do you mean - ‘Computer’?” The first Manchester computer - “The Baby” Interlude - what was going on elsewhere The early Manchester computers Replicating “The Baby”
Quest for a memory By 1945, several research teams were seeking a fast memory device. FC Williams and Tom Kilburn at Manchester University. During the war they had been expert radar engineers and they believed they could solve the memory problem using radar cathode ray tubes.
Freddie Williams and Tom Kilburn In 1950
Quest for a memory The Cathode Ray Tube Store could remember over 2000 binary digits by end of 1947 But would it work in a computing machine? It needed to be tested “…in the hurly-burly of computing.”
The Need for Realistic Testing So they built a little computer to test their memory invention. Formally, it was: “The Small-Scale Experimental Machine” but informally: “Baby”
The Historic Event Monday, 21st June 1948, about 11:15 The first time in the world that a stored- program computer worked The “Baby” was the World’s first Universal Computing Machine Nearly all modern computers are “like” that.
The Illustrated London News
The First program From a notebook kept by Geoff Tootill
Dots & Dashes
A film fragment showing the computer probably in 1948
“What do you mean - ‘Computer’?” The first Manchester computer - “The Baby” Interlude - what was going on elsewhere The early Manchester computers Replicating “The Baby”
Interlude - What was happening elsewhere? University of Cambridge National Physical Laboratory Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton IBM
Cambridge - EDSAC
London - Pilot ACE
USA - von Neumann
IBM uses the Cathode Ray Tube store
“What do you mean - ‘Computer’?” The first Manchester computer - “The Baby” Interlude - what was going on elsewhere The early Manchester computers Replicating “The Baby”
Early Manchester Computers The “Baby” - The Small-Scale Experimental Machine The University Mark 1 computer The Ferranti Mark 1 computer MEG Ferranti Mercury Transistor machine Metropolitan Vickers MV Muse Ferranti Atlas
Small-Scale Experimental Machine Manchester
Illustrated London News photo with annotations
A newsreel film showing the enlarged computer in about June 1949
The Ferranti company gets involved Sir Ben Lockspeiser in 1948 “Construct one computer to Professor Williams’s instructions”
The Ferranti Mk 1 Computer (World’s first commercially-delivered computer)
MEG - Ten times faster
Ferranti “Mercury” -1957
University Transistor Computer
Metro-Vick MV
University “MUSE”
University/Ferranti “ATLAS”
“What do you mean - ‘Computer’?” The first Manchester computer - “The Baby” Interlude - what was going on elsewhere The early Manchester computers Replicating “The Baby”
The Computer Conservation Society The Small-Scale Experimental Machine Rebuild Project THE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE & INDUSTRY IN MANCHESTER
Project Goal “To construct a working replica of the Manchester University Small-Scale Experimental Machine by Sunday, 21st June 1998 the 50th anniversary of the successful running of the world's first stored computer program and to re-run that program.”
SSEM - Building the Replica 1995 to June ½ years to do it all Fully sponsored by ICL - purchasing and use of workshops Acquire the obsolete parts, valves etc. Design studies - technical detective work
Dai Edwards’ Drawing of the Clock Circuit
Alec Robinson’s version of the Clock Circuit
Our Computer-Aided-Design version of the Clock Circuit
Illustrated London News Photo of Typewriter
The Mark 1 in 1949
Close-up of Mark 1 Typewriter
Cover of War Surplus Catalogue
Catalogue Page with Push Button Unit
Replica of the “Baby”
Now a video of the re-building
Small-Scale Experimental Machine Rebuild Project Thanks to: The University of Manchester for facilities and support Our sole sponsor - ICL, West Gorton The pioneer team for consultation and encouragement The Museum of Science and Industry for a final home Many individuals for information and parts My team of CCS members for their volunteer effort