On this day in 1946 John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert unveiled the much awaited ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) at the University of Pennsylvania. The ENIAC was among the earliest electronic general-purpose computers ever made. Designed by Mauchly and Eckert, it used some 18,000 vacuum tubes, occupied more than 1,500 square feet of space and weighed 30 tons. It was able to calculate 5,000 operations per second, making it one thousand times faster than electro-mechanical machines of the time. Its impressive computational power combined with its general-purpose programmability excited scientists and industrialists alike.
ENIAC – Image taken from Penn Library
I’m so glad I don’t need to transport a device weighting 30 tons to calculate something more complicate today!
My smartphone does the job easier and quicker if necessary!