ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first general-purpose electronic digital computer in the world. It marked the beginning of the modern computer era and replaced slow mechanical calculating machines.
2. History & Development
Developed during World War II
Designed by:
J. Presper Eckert
John Mauchly
Developed at:
University of Pennsylvania
Construction period: 19431945
Officially unveiled: 1946
It was built for the U.S. Army to calculate artillery firing tables.
3. Technical Features
Used about 18,000 vacuum tubes
Weighed around 30 tons
Occupied 1500 square feet area
Consumed huge electricity (~150 kW)
Programming done using:
Plugboards
SwitchesNo keyboard, mouse, or operating system existed.
4. Working Principle
ENIAC worked on electronic signals instead of mechanical parts.
Data represented in decimal form (base-10)
Calculations done using electronic pulses
Operations:
Addition
Subtraction
Multiplication
Division
It processed around 5,000 calculations per second, which was extremely fast at that time.
5. Applications
ENIAC was mainly used for:
Military calculations (artillery tables)
Weather prediction
Atomic energy calculations
Scientific research
6. Importance / Advantages
First fully electronic computer
Much faster than mechanical machines
Foundation of modern computing systems
Introduced concept of programmable machines
7. Limitations
Very large size
High power consumption
Generated a lot of heat
Difficult to program (manual wiring)
No stored program concept
8. ENIAC vs Modern Computers
Feature
ENIAC
Modern Computer
Size
Room-sized
Portable
Speed
5,000 ops/sec
Billions ops/sec
Technology
Vacuum tubes
Microprocessors
Programming
Manual wiring
Software-based

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