The Computron was an electron tube designed to perform the parallel addition and multiplication of digital numbers. It was conceived by Richard L. Snyder, Jr., Jan A. Rajchman, Paul Rudnick and the digital computer group at the laboratories of the Radio Corporation of America under the direction of Vladimir Zworykin. Development began in 1941 under contract OEM-sr-591 to Division 7 of the National Defense Research Committee of the United States Office of Research and Development. The numerical function of the Computron was to solve the equation where A, B, C, and D are 14 bit inputs and S is a 28 bit output. This function was key to the RCA attempt to produce a non-analog computer based fire-control system for use in artillery aiming during WWII. A simple way to describe the physically complex Computron is to begin with a cathode ray tube structure in the form of a right-circular cylinder with a central vertical cathode structure. The cylinder is composed of 14 discrete planes, each plane having 14 individual radial outward projecting beams. Each of the 196 individual beams is steered by multiple deflection plates toward its two targets. Some deflection plates are connected to circuitry external to the Computron and are the data inputs. The balance of the plates are connected to internal targets and are the partial sums and products from other stages within the tube. Some of the targets are connected to circuitry outside the tube and represent the result. The electronic function of the Computron design incorporated steered, rather than gated, multiple electron beams. Additionally, the Computron was based on the ability of a secondary electron emission target, under electron bombardment, to assume the potential of the nearest collector electrode. The Additron Tube design by Josef Kates gated electron beams of a fixed trajectory with several control grids which either passed or blocked a current. The Computron was a complex cathode ray tube while the Additron was a triode with multiple grids and targets. A subsection of the Computron was prototyped and tested and the concept validated but the building of an entire device was never attempted. A United States Patent was filed 30 July 1943 and granted 22 July 1947 for the Computron. (Wikipedia).
Vacuum Tube Computer P.09 – Building the 4-bit Instruction Register
Straight up, this is the coolest looking piece of electronics I’ve ever built! It looks awesome, it works great, I couldn’t be happier. So, come along as we go through the journey of building the first finalized part of our vacuum tube computer. Also, check out these episodes I reference:
From playlist Vacuum Tube Computer
CSE373 2012 - Lecture 02 - Big-O Notation (Asymptotic Notation)
This is Lecture 2 of the CSE373 (Analysis of Algorithms) course taught by Professor Steven Skiena [http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~skiena/] at Stony Brook University in 2012.
From playlist CSE373 - Analysis of Algorithms - 2012 SBU
Vacuum Tube Computer P.01 – Architecture and the MC14500B
In this episode, we take our first step towards building a vacuum tube computer! There’s a lot of different architectures out there, so we take a look at one that will hopefully work well for us. This is going to be a long road with lots of speedbumps and testing along the way. It should b
From playlist Vacuum Tube Computer
Vacuum Tube Computer P.08.2 – OpAmp Clock: One Input, Two Clock Signals
This is Part 2 of our OpAmp Clock build. In this part we build a better OpAmp, test it, and then use our new found awesomeness to construct a clock that fits our needs! Not gonna lie, this was a fun one! Check Part 1 here: https://youtu.be/Eg3Qc3UeTKQ Artist: Shnabubula Title: Metroid Su
From playlist Vacuum Tube Computer
Lecture 2 - Asymptotic Notation
This is Lecture 2 of the CSE373 (Analysis of Algorithms) course taught by Professor Steven Skiena [http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~skiena/] at Stony Brook University in 2007. The lecture slides are available at: http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~algorith/video-lectures/2007/lecture2.pdf More informati
From playlist CSE373 - Analysis of Algorithms - 2007 SBU
Q&A 22: China’s Human Space Exploration and More...
In this week’s Q&A, Fraser talks about the Chinese space exploration efforts, rotating space stations with artificial gravity and why he’s always standing in a forest. Audio RSS Feed: www.universetoday.com/feed/audio Video RSS Feed: www.universetoday.com/feed/video Support us at: http://
From playlist Questions and Answers with Fraser Cain
I'm putting this here for a talk I'm giving next week. It is how we pump our nanoparticle samples for optical measurements. I'm sure I could write a fluids problem about it!
From playlist Off Topic
MicroPython – Python for Microcontrollers
MicroPython is a lean and efficient implementation of the Python 3 programming language that includes a small subset of the Python standard library and is optimised to run on microcontrollers and in constrained environments. This talk will give an overview about the MicroPython. EVENT: m
From playlist IoT
Vacuum Tubes: Episode 1 - The Basics and the Diode
In this episode we finally dig into vacuum tubes. I cover what vacuum tubes are and the fundamentals behind their operation and then demonstrate two different diode type tubes.
From playlist Vacuum Tube Logic
CSE 373 -- Lecture 21, Fall 2020
From playlist CSE 373 -- Fall 2020
Vacuum Tube Computer P.08.1 – OpAmp Clock: Inverter Upgrades
This episode is so epic, I’ve split it into two parts! In this first part, we take a look at our basic inverter design and see if we can’t improve it some. Then, once we’ve got a design we’re happy with, we do some massive testing on a bunch of different tubes to see how they each perform
From playlist Vacuum Tube Computer
This is Lecture 3 of the CSE373 (Analysis of Algorithms) course taught by Professor Steven Skiena [http://www3.cs.stonybrook.edu/~skiena/] at Stony Brook University in 2016. The lecture slides are available at: https://www.cs.stonybrook.edu/~skiena/373/newlectures/lecture3.pdf More infor
From playlist CSE373 - Analysis of Algorithms 2016 SBU
CSE 373 -- Lecture 2, Fall 2020
From playlist CSE 373 -- Fall 2020
Lec 19 | MIT 6.172 Performance Engineering of Software Systems, Fall 2010
Lecture 19: How TokuDB Fractal Tree Indexes Work Instructor: Bradley Kuszmaul View the complete course: http://ocw.mit.edu/6-172F10 License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at http://ocw.mit.edu/terms More courses at http://ocw.mit.edu
From playlist MIT 6.172 Performance Engineering of Software Systems
VACUUM TUBE TECHNOLOGY (U.S. Signal Corps. Radio Electronics Training 1942) Rectifiers, Valves
Vacuum Tube Electron Theory and the Diode: An Excellent 1942 Training Film gives clear explanations of how various vacuum tubes work and how they are used in electronic devices. Produced by the U.S. Signal Corps. Film # 1-140. Run time: 15 mins. Electronics Valves Signal Generators Sc
From playlist Vintage Television & Radio Technology, film restoration, film preservation, scanning and digitization
Vacuum Tube Computer P.02 – Heaters and Debounce
In this episode, we start work on the proof-of-concept build! First on the docket is figuring out the best way to power six tube heaters with only 24V. Then, we take a look at how to perform simple switch debouncing. Also, absolutely check out CuriousMarc's channel here: https://www.yout
From playlist Vacuum Tube Computer