Word: digital
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Inner Memory. What can the Mark III do? For one thing, it can multiply two 16-digit numbers in a little more than twelve one-thousandths of a second. But this prodigious speed gives little idea of the machine's talents. Its strong point is its "inner memory." This "memory" consists of nine big aluminum cylinders revolving up to 7,200 r.p.m. Their surfaces are coated with black magnetic material. Huddled around them are staggered rows of little brass blocks enclosing electromagnets. When a brief electric impulse flashes through an electromagnet, it prints a dot of magnetism...
Inner Memory. What can the Mark III do? For one thing, it can multiply two 16-digit numbers in a little more than twelve one-thousandths of a second. But this prodigious speed gives little idea of the machine's talents. Its strong point is its "inner memory." This "memory" consists of nine big aluminum cylinders revolving up to 7,200 r.p.m. Their surfaces are coated with black magnetic material. Huddled around them are staggered rows of little brass blocks enclosing electromagnets. When a brief electric impulse flashes through an electromagnet, it prints a dot of magnetism...
...illustrate the machine's speed, scientists at the Computation Laboratory say that Mark III can multiply two 16 digit numbers together over 1000 times faster than a man can even write down the 32 figures to be multiplied...
More than 4000 16-digit numbers, plus 4000 "commands" for carrying out the various operations of the machine, can be put on these nine drums. The drums revolve at speeds up to 120 revolutions per second and the magnetic spots move by the recording and play-back heads at speeds greater than 150 miles par hour...
...protect the identity of tipsters, the Sun-Times told them to "sign" their letters with six-digit numbers and tear off a jagged corner of the page; when a murderer is convicted, the newspaper will print the "winning" number and the tipster can present the missing piece of paper and claim his $5,000 reward. The Los Angeles Mirror (TIME, June 13) has copied the Sun-Times scheme...