Also known as | Wolverhampton Instrument for Teaching Computing from Harwell (WITCH) |
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Developer | Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, Berkshire |
Release date | May 1952 |
Discontinued | 1973 |
CPU | Relays for sequence control and valve-based (vacuum tube) electronics for calculations |
Memory | 20 (later 40) eight-digit dekatron registers |
Storage | Paper tape |
Display | Either a Creed teleprinter or a paper tape punch |
Power | 1.5 kW |
Mass | 2.5 tonnes |
The Harwell computer, or Harwell Dekatron computer,[1][2] later known as the Wolverhampton Instrument for Teaching Computing from Harwell (WITCH),[3] is an early British computer of the 1950s based on valves and relays. From 2009 to 2012, it was restored at the National Museum of Computing.[4] In 2013, for the second time, the Guinness Book of World Records recognised it as the world's oldest working digital computer, following its restoration. It previously held the title for several years until it was decommissioned in 1973.[5] The museum uses the computer's visual, dekatron-based memory to teach schoolchildren about computers.[4]