in the 193s, an associate professor named John Vincent Atanasoff, from the Department of Physics of Iowa State University, gave lectures on physics and mathematical physics methods to students. When solving linear partial differential equations, his students have to face complicated calculations and consume a lot of time. Atanasov tried to use analog and digital methods to help his students deal with those complicated calculation problems. Since 1935, he has been exploring the use of digital electronic technology for calculation. He is very devoted to his work and often forgets to eat and sleep and thinks hard. Atanasov himself has a very interesting description of how he devoted himself to this work at that time. "I tried repeatedly to find the right way of thinking, but I never got the solution. After working like this for several months, I went back to work in my office one evening, still having no idea and feeling extremely depressed. So I got into the car and drove on the road. I drive very fast and try to concentrate on driving so that I can put my problems behind me. But when I really woke up, I found that I had crossed the Mississippi River and drove 189 miles to Illinois. Alcohol was banned in Iowa at that time, but not in Illinois. I searched by the light and finally found a pub, went in and ordered a glass of wine to drink. I felt very clear-headed and suddenly understood how I should think. So I got to work at once, worked there for three hours at a stretch, and then slowly drove home. That night, in a roadside pub in Illinois, I made four decisions: to use electric energy and electronic components, which were electronic vacuum tubes at that time; Adopt binary system instead of the usual decimal system; The capacitor is used as the memory, which can be regenerated and avoid errors; Perform direct logical operations instead of the usual numerical arithmetic. "
Atanasov's design goal is to be able to solve linear equations with 29 unknowns. After two years of repeated research and experiments, the thinking is becoming clearer and clearer. He also needed someone who was smart, mechanical and hands-on to complete the invention, so he found Clifford Berry, a graduate student who was studying for a master's degree in physics at that time. Two people finally built a complete prototype in 1939, which proved that their concept was correct and achievable. People call this prototype ABC, which stands for Atanasoff-Berry Computer, the computer containing their names. This computer is a combination of electronics and electrical appliances. There are 3 electronic vacuum tubes in the circuit system to perform digital calculation and logical operation. There are two memory drums on the machine, and capacitors are used to store the values, and the values are expressed by electric quantity. Data input adopts punch card reading and adopts binary system. The design of ABC has included four most important basic concepts in modern computers.
It is a pity that Atanasov himself may not realize that this is a major invention that will affect the whole human society and the possibility of how much economic benefits it will bring him, so he did not apply for patent protection for himself. He was enlisted to serve in the navy in 1942, and he had no time to take care of it. The university of Iowa didn't take ABC's invention seriously either. Instead of helping Atanasov to apply for a patent, it ordered the graduate students in the department to tear down ABC, because the 3 vacuum tubes on the computer ABC were in short supply during World War II. The school later understood that it was an irreparable mistake. Nowadays, the only ones that are placed in the ABC laboratory of Iowa State University for people to visit are replicas designed at that time.
the design of ABC began in 1935 and was completed in 1939. It is earlier in time than any other design scheme of electronic computer that we know now, such as the design of Bush and Crawford of MIT. Design by Zuse and Schreier in Berlin, design by British Foreign Office, design by Rajchman in RCA, and ENIAC designed and manufactured by John Mauchley and Presper Eckert in University of Pennsylvania. However, for a long time, people have mistakenly thought that the first computer in the world was designed and manufactured by the University of Pennsylvania in 1945, and its main designer, Mao Keli, claimed to be so and applied for an American patent. As I mentioned above, the design and manufacturing schemes of several other computers later than ABC in the 193s. In fact, except ENIAC, it should be said that they were all invented independently. But ENIAC is not. After several years of investigation, the District Court of Minnesota in the United States finally found that its designer and manufacturer were deeply influenced by ABC, and this machine could not be regarded as an independent invention at all. In 1973, the Minnesota District Court of the United States made a formal judgment, revoked the patent of Maukley, and affirmed that Atanasov was the real inventor of modern computers. There is also a story in it.
In 194, at an annual meeting of AAAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Maukley, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, met Atanasov. Atanasov talked to him about ABC designed and manufactured by himself. Mao Keli showed great interest and AMES to A Mu, a small town in Iowa, the seat of Iowa State University the following year. He lived for five days and carefully understood the design details and internal working principle of ABC. After returning to the University of Pennsylvania, he decided to design a machine, claiming to use it to solve the weather forecast problem, and this plan was immediately supported by the Ministry of National Defense. In 1946, he and Eckert finally built a machine called ENIAC, and obtained a patent for the invention, which brought them huge economic benefits. Mao Keli kept it a secret, and never admitted that he had consulted Atanasov about the design principle of ABC. Even when asked if he had visited Atanasov in A Mu in 1941 and stayed for five days, he denied it and said "I don't remember". It was not until 1973, after the longest investigation by the federal court in the United States, that the truth finally came out, overturned the patent of the plagiarist Maukley, and ruled: "The basic idea of modern computers came from John Vincent Atanasov."