History of Computers

(Early Computing Devices) The term "___________" comes from the idea of "computing" or "the act of calculating"

Computer

(Digital -Modern computing device) Modern computers run on _______ data, or data that is represented entirely with 1's and 0's. Any data value or instructions for a modern electronic device must be converted into this "language" of _'s and __'s in order for the computer to perform a given operation.

digital; 1; 0

(Digital) Data or information that is represented by a _______, or _____, set of values

discrete; finite

(Analog - Rulers) Similar to the wall clock, a ruler is calibrated to read distances with varying degrees of ________. Some measuring devices (such as a Venier Caliper) can accurately measure distances up to _____ ___.

accuracy; 0.01 mm

(Digital) Data or information that is presented or expressed with a very ________ amount of possible values.

limited

(Early Computing Devices - ABC Computer) The ABC was a specific use computer, designed to solve systems of ______ ___________ ______________, and was capable of solving systems of equations with up to 29 unknowns. Such math problems were often encountered by scientists and engineers, and were very challenging and time consuming to perform by hand.

linear algebraic equations

(Early Computing Devices - Slide rule) The slide rule is a (mechanical/electromechanical) device, containing only moving parts. The slide rule is an (digital/analog) computing device, composed of several finely calibrated sliding scales which provide an (finite/infinite) set of data values.

mechanical; analog; ifinite

(Early Computing Devices - Astrolabe) The astrolabe is a (mechanical/electromechanical) device, consisting of only moving parts. The astrolabe is an (analog/digital) computing machine; its multiple calibrated sliding dials providing an (finite/infinite) set of data regarding the positions of celestial objects.

mechanical; analog; infinite

(Digital - Computer keyboards) T/F Digital in the sense that either you are pressing the key (represented by a 1) or you are not pressing the key (represented by a 0).

true

(Early Computing Devices - Astrolabe) T/F The The many functions of the astrolabe include: predicting the positions of the stars, moons and planets, measuring the altitude of these objects above the horizon, and aiding in navigation by determining local latitudes.

true

(Early Computing Devices - ABC Computer) The ____________ ________ Computer, later named the "ABC Computer", was built at Iowa State University from 1939-1942 by physics professor Dr. John Vincent Atanasoff and his graduate student, Clifford Berry. Atanasoff sought to increase the speed and _________ of scientific calculations through the development of an electronic digital computer. The ABC computer was specifically constructed entirely with ___________ components, eliminating all mechanical parts. The machine used over 300 vacuum tubes and thyratrons (high powered electrical switches similar to vacuum tubes), allowing for the construction of electronic logic circuits to perform addition and subtraction. The machine also had a sophisticated memory storage device, built using around 1,600 capacitors.

Atanasoff Berry; accuracy; electronic

(Early Computing Devices - Astrolabe) The origins of the astrolabe can be traced back to ancient ________, where astronomers such as Apollonius (225 BC) and Hipparchus (180 BC). The astrolabe was not invented at this time, but the theory behind it, referred to as "___________ ___________", was being developed. _____________, who also discovered the precession of the equinoxes and was influential in the development of trigonometry, redefined and formalized "astrolabe projection" as a method for solving complex ______________ problems. The earliest evidence of the use of stereographic projection in a machine can be traced back to Alexandria, ________, around 50 BC. The machine consisted of a clock with a rotating field of stars behind a wire frame indicating the hours of the day. It is unclear exactly when this early _________________ projection became transformed into the modern form of the astrolabe. The Greek bishop Synesius of Cyrene (378 AD-430 AD), in present day Libya, is reported to have had an instrument constructed that was arguably one of the first forms of the modern astrolabe. Various forms of this device were used for centuries throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Greece; astrolabe projection; Hipparchus; astronomical; Egypt; stereographic

(Early Computing Devices - The Z3 Computer) Invented by __________ ______, in _______, Germany as a top-secret government funded project, the Z3 was completed in _____. Zuse's first computer, the Z1, was built in the late 1930's, was purely mechanical and only operated for several minutes at a time. In 1939, he improved his design by adding relay switches. However, the Z2 was problematic and rarely worked properly. Luckily, his third model, the Z3, proved to be a huge technological leap forward. The Z3 is considered to be thterm-25e first ________________ computing device. The Z3 contained around 2,500 relay switches and used _______ numbers (0's and 1's) and "_________ _______ ________" (movable decimal points). The Z3 had all the attributes of today's MODERN computers, such as a control block, a memory, and a calculator. But it didn't have the ability to store programs and data in the memory, because the memory was too small. The Z3 stored its program on an external tape, thus no rewiring was necessary to change programs. A specially designed keyboard was used to input data into the device, and a row of lamps on the panel indicated the results of the Z3's calculations.

Konrad Zuse; Berlin; 1941; programmable; binary; floating point arithmetic

(Early Computing Devices - Colossus) The Colossus Computer, sometimes referred to as the _______ __, was an electronic computer built in __________, between 1943 - 1945. _________ _________ designed a majority of the computer's electrical systems, with assistance from William Chandler, Sidney Broadhurst and Allen Coombs. Erie Speight and Arnold Lynch developed the machine's the _____________ __________ ___________. Successively larger and more-elaborate versions were built over the course of two years, By the end of the war, ten models had been constructed. One of the most prominent parts of Colossus is the _______ device, nicknamed 'the bedstead'. It is an ________ reader for punched paper tapes, than could read data at the phenomenal speed of 5000 characters per second. A complex system of supporting wheels was necessary to regulate the tape tension and prevent the tape from ripping apart at this _______.

Mark I; England; Tommy Flowers; photoelectric reading mechanism; input; optical; speed

(Analog - Your Eyes) Your eyes see the world in an "______" way. Your eyes pics up an infinite range of ________ variations with no limitation in hue/shade/color. Unlike a computer or LCD display, which utilizes _______, composed of only ______ colors (red, green and blue), which limit the possible variations of hue/shade/color.

analog; color; pixels; three

(Analog) Define Analog:

any device from which the user reads or interprets a data value from a scale or dial

(Early Computing Devices - Abacus) The abacus, also called a "hunting frame", is a calculating tool for performing ____________ processes, often constructed as a wooden frame with BEADS SLIDING ON WIRES. Very early forms of this device included the placement of _______ on lines drawn in the sand. The ____________________ used this "dust abacus" as early as 2400 BC. Many ancient civilizations utilized this counting device, including (but not limited to) the Chinese, the Greeks, the ancient Egyptians, and the Romans. The device was first invented as a ____________ aid, allowing merchants to count larger sums quickly. Over time, the abacus scholars also began using the abacus for many different __________________ operations, including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

arithmetical; Babylonians; counting.; mathmatical

(Early Computing Devices - Slide rule) A slide rule is an early, non-electrical version of the modern ___________. The slide rule contained many different sliding ________, which when properly aligned, allowed for complex mathematical calculations such as multiplying large numbers, taking square roots, evaluating logarithms or trigonometric functions. ________ _______, of ________, invented the first slide rule around _____, shortly after the concept of the logarithm was developed. Gunter's slide rule was a long straight calibrated board, with a logarithmic scale. Around ____, _________ __________ created a CIRCULAR version of the device. Oughtred also was credited with developing the "modern" slide rule, by putting several Gunter slide rules side by side, creating a single device that could perform many different calculations.

calculator; scales; Edmund Gunter; London; 1620; 1630; William Oughted

(Analog) In analog, data or information obtained is part of a "______________" set of data values

continuous

(Digital -Digital clocks) Digital clocks typically only display hours and minutes, not seconds. Therefore time data is not ____________, but instead is represented by ________ times. A time of 12:01 pm and a time of 12:02 pm with _________ in between.

continuous; discrete; nothing

(Digital) Any device that utilizes a _______ display to present data values.

digital

(Early Computing Devices - The Z3 Computer) The Z3 is an (mechanical/electromechanical) device, consisting of mechanical moving parts along with electrical components, such as electrical switches, vacuum tubes (electrodes that allow the flow of current) and light bulbs. The Z3 is a (analog/digital) device; the output of its mathematical calculations was a number with a fixed number of digits, displayed using a series of light bulbs (which are either on or off). The Z3 is the world's FIRST working _______________ computer.

electromechanical; digital; programmable

(Early Computing Devices - ABC Computer) The ABC computer was the world's FIRST completely __________ computing device, utilizing vacuum tubes, thyratrons and capacitors. The ABC computer was a (analog/digital) computing device, with both _______ and _______ data relayed using a series of punch cards.

electronic; digital; input; output

(Digital -Monitors/TV screens) Unlike the eye, even the highest quality LCD displays utilize pixels of red, green and blue to make various color combinations. The use of only three pixels limits the range of ____, ______, and _______ that can be produced. This limited number of combinations is a discrete, or limited, set.

hue; shade; color

(Analog) In analog, data or information that is presented or expressed with "seemingly __________" many values

infinitely

(Early Computing Devices - Abacus) The abacus is a (mechanical/electromechanical) device, containing only moving parts. It is considered a (analog/digital) computing device, since a bead can be slid up or down, counted or not counted; there is no halfway positioning of beads. The abacus also deals only with whole numbers, no decimals, and therefore the abacus yields a (finite/infinite) set of possible outcomes.

mechanical; digital; finite

(Electromechanical device or machine) Combines _____________ and _____________ components. Machines that contain moving parts along with electrical components, or circuits.

mechanical; electrical

(Mechanical device or machine) A mechanical device or machine is one that runs entirely on ________ parts and does not contain _________ components.

moving; electrical

(Early Computing Devices - Colossus) Colossus was the world's FIRST ________________, ____________, _________ computer (although it was programmed by switches and plugs and not by a stored program). The input was a ___________ _______ and the output was displayed ______________.

programmable; electronic; digital; punched tape; electronically

(Early Computing Devices - Colossus) The Colossus computers were primarily used to help decipher intercepted ______ ___________ that had been encrypted using unknown devices, but most notably the German Lorenz SZ - 40/42 Cipher Machine. (The German Enigma codes were actually deciphered by the "Bombe" computer, a predecessor to the Colossus).

radio messages

(Analog - Temperature gauges) Mercury thermometers are calibrated similar to ______ and depending on the amount of calibration can yields an endless _______ of temperature data.

rulers; range

(Early Computing Devices - The Z3 Computer) Zuse's Z3 machine saw use during the war, but not as a code breaker. Instead, it was used to perform __________ _________ of the stresses on aircraft wings, and in particular, a problem known as wing-flutter. This vibration of an aircraft's wing can cause a critical instability during flight. The calculations needed to overcome this design issue were incredibly complex, and it was this problem that the Z3 solved.

statistical analysis

(Analog - Clocks with hands) Especially if the clock has a second hand, the time read from this clock can be estimated to _______ of a second. This means that in the span of time of one minute, say between 12:01 pm and 12:02 pm, ____ different could be read from the clock. This amount of _________ is not possible with a digital clock that only displays numbers.

tenths; 600; accuracy