skip to main content
10.1145/1455270.1455280acmconferencesArticle/Chapter ViewAbstractPublication PagesafipsConference Proceedingsconference-collections
research-article
Free access

Performance of TRADIC transistor digital computer

Published: 08 December 1954 Publication History

Abstract

At the Joint Computer Conference in February 1952, I presented a paper on the transistor as a digital computer component. My talk at that time was based upon some early experience with transistors which led to the TRADIC program. This paper will present a progress report on what has come out of those early experiences. In 1951 we had a high-speed point-contact transistor. We also had an amplifier using that transistor which could regenerate digital data at a pulse rate of 1 mc. At the request of the Air Force, a program was started to lead to a transistor digital computer for an air-borne application. The application can probably best be characterized by saying that it required a series of extensive computations to be performed periodically upon less than 20 input numbers. The number of outputs required from the machine is even less than its inputs. The computer was to become a part of a military machine; that is, its inputs were not numbers from an electric typewriter or a punched tape but rather were from shafts and special dials. Its outputs similarly were not printed sheets of paper but were shaft positions and operational signals to other machinery. Thus, a large number of problems which we faced had to do with conversions from analogue data to digital data and conversely.

References

[1]
The Transistor as a Digital Computer Component, J. H. Felker. Review of Electronic Digital Computers, Joint AIEE-IRE Computer Conference, New York, N. Y., February 1952.
[2]
Regenerative Amplifier for Digital Computer Applications, J. H. Felker. Proceedings, Institute of Radio Engineers, New York, N. Y., vol. 40, no. 11, November 1952, p. 1584.
[3]
A Transistor Pulse Amplifier Using External Regeneration, J. H. Vogelsong. Ibid., vol. 41, no. 10, October 1953, p. 1444.
[4]
A Junction Transistor Tetrode for High-Frequency Use, R. L. Wallace, L. G. Schimpf, E. Dickten. Ibid., vol. 40, November 1952, pp. 1395--1400.
[5]
P-N-I-P and N-P-I-N Junction Transistor Triodes, J. M. Early. The Bell System Technical Journal, New York, N Y., vol. 23, no. 3, May 1954, p. 517.

Cited By

View all

Recommendations

Comments

Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

cover image ACM Conferences
AIEE-IRE '54 (Eastern): Proceedings of the December 8-10, 1954, eastern joint computer conference: Design and application of small digital computers
December 1954
106 pages
ISBN:9781450378550
DOI:10.1145/1455270
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

Sponsors

Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 08 December 1954

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Check for updates

Qualifiers

  • Research-article

Contributors

Other Metrics

Bibliometrics & Citations

Bibliometrics

Article Metrics

  • Downloads (Last 12 months)188
  • Downloads (Last 6 weeks)18
Reflects downloads up to 15 Jan 2025

Other Metrics

Citations

Cited By

View all
  • (2022)IntroductionGraphs in VLSI10.1007/978-3-031-11047-4_1(1-12)Online publication date: 30-Jun-2022
  • (2022)A Convergence with Computer ScienceA Concise Introduction to Scientific Visualization10.1007/978-3-030-86419-4_4(57-78)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2022
  • (2010)Evolution of Elliott Computer ArchitecturesMoving Targets10.1007/978-1-84882-933-6_10(337-370)Online publication date: 15-Dec-2010
  • (2001)Early Digital Computers at Bell Telephone LaboratoriesIEEE Annals of the History of Computing10.1109/85.94890423:3(22-42)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2001
  • (1999)Flyable TRADICIEEE Annals of the History of Computing10.1109/85.80153321:4(55-61)Online publication date: 1-Oct-1999
  • (1976)Chronology of Computing DevicesIEEE Transactions on Computers10.1109/TC.1976.167458725:12(1190-1199)Online publication date: 1-Dec-1976
  • (1958)IntroductionProceedings of the May 6-8, 1958, western joint computer conference: contrasts in computers10.1145/1457769.1457776(17-17)Online publication date: 6-May-1958
  • (1956)A saturable-transformer digital amplifier with diode switchingPapers and discussions presented at the December 10-12, 1956, eastern joint computer conference: New developments in computers10.1145/1455533.1455548(58-64)Online publication date: 10-Dec-1956
  • (1956)Review of Electronic Computer Progress During 1955IEEE Transactions on Electronic Computers10.1109/TEC.1956.5219793EC-5:1(43-47)Online publication date: Mar-1956

View Options

View options

PDF

View or Download as a PDF file.

PDF

eReader

View online with eReader.

eReader

Login options

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Share this Publication link

Share on social media