CSIRAC

CSIRAC
CSIRAC, Australia's first digital computer, as displayed at the Melbourne Museum
Also known asCSIR Mk 1
DeveloperCSIRO
TypeDigital computer
Release datec.1949 (1949)
Units shipped1

CSIRAC (/ˈsaɪræk/; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer), originally known as CSIR Mk 1, was Australia's first digital computer, and the fifth stored program computer in the world.[1] It is the oldest surviving first-generation electronic computer[2] (the Zuse Z4 at the Deutsches Museum is older, but was electro-mechanical, not electronic), and was the first in the world to play digital music.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

After being exhibited at Melbourne Museum for many years, it was relocated to Scienceworks in 2018 and is now on permanent display in the Think Ahead gallery.[9] A comprehensive source of information about the CSIRA collection, its contributors and related topics is available from Museums Victoria on their Collections website.[10]

  1. ^ "CSIRAC". 12 August 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference VHD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "CSIRAC: Australia's first computer". Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
  4. ^ Fildes, Jonathan (17 June 2008). "Oldest computer music unveiled". BBC News Online. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
  5. ^ "MuSA 2017 - Early Computer Music Experiments in Australia, England and the USA". MuSA Conference. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  6. ^ Doornbusch, Paul (2017). "Early Computer Music Experiments in Australia and England". Organised Sound. 22 (2). Cambridge University Press: 297–307 [11]. doi:10.1017/S1355771817000206.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference abc.net.au/radionational/sum-of-all-parts/13.1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "CSIRAC - the world's oldest intact first-generation electronic computer". Museums Victoria.
  10. ^ "CSIRAC Collection". Museums Victoria Collections.