SEAC (computer)

SEAC
SEAC 1n 1950
DeveloperSamuel N. Alexander and team
ManufacturerU.S. National Bureau of Standards (NBS)
Release date1950; 74 years ago (1950)
Units sold1
CPU@ 1 MHz
Memory512 words, with each being 45 bits in size (64 acoustic delay lines)
Mass3,000 pounds (1.5 short tons; 1.4 t) (Central Machine)
SEAC's "last printout," November 1954. However SEAC was reassembled successfully and ran for another ten years until its dismantling in 1964. Printout reads: WIPE YOUR EYE5...... I GO AWAY .%...........-

SEAC (Standards Eastern Automatic Computer[1] or Standards Electronic Automatic Computer)[2] was a first-generation electronic computer, built in 1950 by the U.S. National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and was initially called the National Bureau of Standards Interim Computer, because it was a small-scale computer designed to be built quickly and put into operation while the NBS waited for more powerful computers to be completed (the DYSEAC). The team that developed SEAC was organized by Samuel N. Alexander.[3] SEAC was demonstrated in April 1950 and was dedicated in June 1950;[4][5][6] it is claimed to be the first fully operational stored-program electronic computer in the US.[7]

  1. ^ "1950 | Timeline of Computer History | Computer History Museum". Archived from the original on 2010-04-24. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  2. ^ "1955 BRL report". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  3. ^ "Obituary: Samuel Alexander, NBS Senior Research Fellow". Physics Today. 21 (4): 131. April 1968. doi:10.1063/1.3034910. Archived from the original on 2014-10-24.
  4. ^ Lee, John A. N.; Lee, J. A. N. (1995). International Biographical Dictionary of Computer Pioneers. Taylor & Francis. p. 237. ISBN 9781884964473.
  5. ^ "3. SEAC (Formerly called NBS Interim Computer)". Digital Computer Newsletter. 2 (3): 1–2. 1950-08-01. Archived from the original on 2022-11-12. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  6. ^ News - National Bureau of Standards 1950, p. 239.
  7. ^ Kirsch, Russell (1 Sep 2000). "Computer Development at the National Bureau of Standards". NIST Special Publication. 958: 86–89. Retrieved 23 May 2018.