The Scalable Computing Laboratory was created by the Department of Energy, Ames Lab, and Iowa State University to "improve parallel computing through clustering techniques for use in scientific and engineering computation." One of their past projects included rebuilding the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), the first electronic digital computer. Here visitors can read about building a working replica of the historical computer as well as the background of the original machine and its inventors. Visitors interested in seeing the ABC in action should click on the link "Video" on the left hand side of the homepage. There are two videos here: the first is a seven-minute demonstration of the operation of the ABC and the second an eleven-minute tutorial about the ABC. The "Photos/Diagrams" link contains over two dozen photographs of the large amount of work that went into the making of the working replica of this machine, which was originally built between 1937 and 1942.
Comments