the first electronic computers were built before the invention of the transistor or integrated circuit chip. They used vacuum tubes for the processing and temporary memory. In Britain those tubes were called valves.
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.
Tommy Flowers invented the Colossus, the world's first programmable digital computer, in 1943. It was designed to help break the Lorenz cipher used by the German military during World War II. The Colossus was operational by 1944 and played a crucial role in the Allied code-breaking efforts.
Valves in a pneumatic system regulate the flow and direction of compressed air, controlling the operation of actuators and other components. They enable precise control over the speed and movement of machinery, ensuring efficient and safe operation. Additionally, valves can help isolate sections of the system for maintenance or troubleshooting. Overall, they play a crucial role in the functionality and reliability of pneumatic systems.
they have two - four valves
A Plug Valve is a Globe Valve. Very generally speaking there are two major catagories of Industrial Process Control Valves, Sliding Stem and Rotary. Globe Bodies valves fall into the category of Sliding Stem Valves. Butterfly and Ball valves fall into the category of Rotary valves. However there are what is referred as Rotary Plug Valves, whereby a partial sphere has a shaft eccentrically mounted, that rotates into and out of a metal or composition seat acting as a plug. Most plug valves are sliding stem.
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
Because - when Colossus was built (in 1943), microchips had yet to be invented ! Microchips replaced valves and transistors in newer computers.
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.
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the first electronic computers were built before the invention of the transistor or integrated circuit chip. They used vacuum tubes for the processing and temporary memory. In Britain those tubes were called valves.
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.