Eighty years ago this month, engineers at the University of Pennsylvania unveiled what is considered the world’s first electronic computer, known as the ENIAC. Not only was the ENIAC 1,000 times faster than previous machines; it was the first machine to abandon cranks and shafts and rely on vacuum tubes and the flow of electrons. In other words, it was truly electronic. What’s more, it could solve multiple problems rather than a single task. Crucial to this innovation was the contribution of six female programmers.
Running the machine was still a chore, according to the University of Pennsylvania:
Because ENIAC lacked internal program storage, the programmers had to configure each computation manually. They stood between the machine’s 30-ton panels, rewiring plugboards and setting switches to route electric signals (pulses). They then “patched” the accumulators together with heavy cables, manually routing the flow of pulses—for example, from a multiplier to an accumulator and finally to a card puncher—to solve an equation.
ENIAC, like many of its successors, took up quite a bit of space, including 18,000 vacuum tubes that weighed 30 tons and took up 1,800 square feet. It was the precursor to the big computer centers built at places like University of Michigan and other campuses, where young computer engineers began working on ever more complex applications.
Today, something like the ENIAC seems like a relic from an ancient past. Your children’s throwaway wind-up toys likely have more processing power. Yet we should also be reminded of how young the digital age actually is and how fast innovation has happened in less than a century. We now live in a world where, with a small pocket device, one can communicate with the world, have food delivered, choose from a variety of entertainment options, and book travel anywhere in the world. What was once written about as science fiction a few generations ago is now reality.
Click Here to Read More (Originally Published at World Magazine )
Daniel is the director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, including The Dignity Revolution, Agents of Grace, and his forthcoming book, In Defense of Christian Patriotism. Dan is a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Angela, have four children.
