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The Colossus was built using thermionic valves, thyratrons, relays and stepping switches.The Colossus Mark 1 used about 1600 valves and the Colossus Mark 2 used about 2400 valves. After the Colossus Mark 2 was in production and use the single Colossus Mark 1 was briefly shutdown and upgraded to a Colossus Mark 2. Five of the ten Colossus machines also had a device called the "gadget" that aided in a process called "rectangling", the number of additional valves added to each of these enhanced Colossus Mark 2 machines is unknown.
using valves
using valves
The Colossus was built using thermionic valves, thyratrons, relays and stepping switches.The Colossus Mark 1 used about 1600 valves and the Colossus Mark 2 used about 2400 valves. After the Colossus Mark 2 was in production and use the single Colossus Mark 1 was briefly shutdown and upgraded to a Colossus Mark 2. Five of the ten Colossus machines also had a device called the "gadget" that aided in a process called "rectangling", the number of additional valves added to each of these enhanced Colossus Mark 2 machines is unknown.
Because - when Colossus was built (in 1943), microchips had yet to be invented ! Microchips replaced valves and transistors in newer computers.
The Colossus computer worked using one to two thousand thermionic valves.
they were huge and you needed loads
The two main problems with the valves in the Colossus were their tendency to stick and their susceptibility to overheating. The design of the valves made them prone to mechanical failures, which could lead to reduced performance and reliability in the machine. Additionally, the high temperatures generated during operation exacerbated these issues, further impacting the overall functionality of the Colossus.
Colossus worked by holes punched in a paper tape. It was programmed by switches and plugs. Colossus used thermionic valves (vacuum tubes) to perform Boolean and counting operations.
Probably rate of burnout and heat. But this was common to all vacuum tube computers, not just Colossus.
Probably rate of burnout and heat. But this was common to all vacuum tube computers, not just Colossus.
The Fall of Colossus has 186 pages.