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IAS Machine Dead

IAS Machine
KindMachine
Introduced1952
Discontinued1960
StatusDead
Manufacturervon Neumann / IAS Princeton
ClassEarly computer
PlatformWilliams tube, 40-bit
Sourcewww.ias.edu ↗

The archetype — von Neumann's institute machine whose design was given away free, cloning itself into a worldwide family: ORACLE, ILLIAC, MANIAC, JOHNNIAC, and more.

Created by John von Neumann

Von Neumann built the IAS machine (1946–52) at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study purely to prove the stored-program concept could work — no secrecy, the plans distributed free. Julian Bigelow's team ran it in 1952.

Dozens of clones followed — MANIAC (Los Alamos), ILLIAC (Illinois), JOHNNIAC (RAND), ORACLE (Oak Ridge), SILLIAC (Sydney), WEIZAC (Rehovot), BESM (Moscow). The 'von Neumann architecture' became computing's default blueprint.

→ Read the full article on the ALB Wiki

Sources

  1. ias.edu/
  2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAS_machine