The Early Computer Industry
Early Memory
The revolutionary nature of transistors cannot be understated. A transistor is a form of Semiconductor, i.e. a device that partially conducts electricity, and can be used like a switch, allowing energy to flow in some conditions and blocking that flow in others. Prior to transistors there were a few popular means of achieving control over the flow of energy in a circuit. As previously mentioned, around the time Bill was at Devry, Vacuum tubes were popular in certain forms of technology, but magnetic cores were also a predominent component in computer memory.
From 1955 to 1975, magnetic-core memory was the predominant form of random access computer memory (RAM). The core memory board was made of magnetic wires that looped into tiny donuts. Each donut, or core, was made from semihard ferrite material and represented one bit. Memory is made up of a binary language of ones and zeros. When the bit is magnetized in a specific direction it produces a “zero”; when magnetized in another direction, it produces a “one.”
Wires fed through the core were designated as horizontal x-address lines, vertical y-address lines and sense lines. As the current travels along the wire, the core creates enough current so that the magnetic force travels in the direction of the corresponding one or zero value. The computer then performs specific tasks based on the given binary. Though revolutionary at their debut, their cost, material usage and speed inhibited continuous innovation.
The Dawn of Transistors
Transistors precede the invention of cores by a few years. In 1947 The first working transistors were invented at Bell Labs in a series of discoveries and tests by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley. However it would take some time and the development of another technology for their full potential to be realized. The invention of core memory in 1949 by Jay Forrester posed a more reasonable option combined with the technology available at the time.
Between 1954 and 1959 the first transistorized computers were created and in 1959 integrated Circuits were independantly but simultaneously invented by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce (soon to be Co-Founder of Intel). Integrated Circuits create a use case for transistors. Now designers and engineers could significantly increase the processing power of a single circuit board by including multiple small circuits and controlling their input via transistors.
Random Access Memory
Think of computer memory like a piece of paper, information can be written, read, and erased. Computer memory can either be volatile or permanent, meaning that the information already written into a system will either erase or stay after the system is powered down. In the way that you may be able to jump from the first paragraph of a page to the fifth paragraph and still be able to read, Random Access memory allows a computer to read its memory non-linearly, jumping to the neccessary information it needs for a task.
In 1963 the first transistorized Static RAM (SRAM) using bipolar junction transistors is created by Robert Norman at fairchild and a year later at fairchild John Schmidt creates the first Metal Oxide Semiconductor transistor SRAM.
The first Dynamic RAM (DRAM) is invented by Robert Dennard at IBM between 1966 and 1967. RAM and Computer Processing Units have a symbiotic relationship where advancement in one area can inspire advancement in another. The creation of DRAM is a direct influence on the creation of the first microprocessor, or as it's commonly called, CPU. The Intel 4004 is the first CPU and it was invented by Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce in 1968. The two would found Integrated Electronics (Intel) that same year.
The Early Computer Industry
