Harvard Mark I

Harvard Mark I

The early 1940’s were known for the worldwide war. This war did change history. In the year 1944 an invention was created. It has revolutionized the world today. This piece of technology happens to be a computer.

Howard H. Aiken is credited to inventing the Harvard Mark I computer in the year 1944. The first computer was actually invented in 1941 in Germany which the name of it is the Zuse Z3. The Harvard Mark I is a significant computer because it was American made and this contraption had a great ability in doing calculations. The creator, Howard H. Aiken, was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. In 1939 he obtained his PH. D in physics at Harvard University. The machine was built by IBM engineers in Endicott, New York. It was shipped to Harvard University in February 1944.

The original name of the Harvard Mark I computer was the IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator. Its acronym is (ASCC). The Harvard Mark I was an electromechanical computer. In actuality the computing mechanism in the majority of the computers built in the year 1940 was electronic. The numeral system in this computer is in the decimal format. During this time the numeral system in most of these computers were binary.

The numeral system of binary is quite easy to comprehend. Binary is two numbers that represent any number. This means in binary code there is only 0 and 1. For instance the number 5 is 101. Binary code is read from right to left. The first spot is one. For every spot afterwards the number doubles. For instance it goes 1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128 and it goes on. This means 5 = 101 because there is a number one in the four spot and another one in the one spot. You add the four and one spot to get 5. Any number can be turned into binary code.

There are many interesting facts about the Harvard Mark I. This computer was composed of switches, relays, rotating shafts and clutches. The machine used 765,000 components. Within this computer there were 500 miles of wire. The length of the Harvard Mark I was 51 feet. Its height was 8 feet. The length of the computer was 2 feet. Its weight was about 10,000 pounds. The calculating units were run by a 50 foot shaft run by a 5 horsepower electric motor. There were 3 million connections in this computer. Norman Bel Geddes was the designer of this contraption.

The massive calculator had many functions that are outdated today. It was able to do three additions or subtractions in a second. Multiplication equations took six seconds to resolve. A division equation took 15.3 seconds. A logarithm or trigonometric function took over one minute to resolve. The computer read the instructions through a punched paper tape. The Harvard Mark I was able to use many digits to solve equations. Interestingly, the task of this computer was to do computations for the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships during World War II.

The future of the Harvard Mark I had many events. After the Harvard Mark I, the Harvard Mark II, III and IV were created. Howard Aiken was also responsible for these creations. The Mark II and III went to the naval base in Dahlgren, Virginia. The Mark IV was constructed for the U.S. Air Force. The Harvard Mark I remained at Harvard. This computer became disassembled. Portions of the Mark I do remain at Harvard. These portions form part of the Harvard collection of Historical Scientific Instruments.

World War II was a significant war. I decided not to write about World War II technology specifically because I believe that writing about the beginning of computers is more important for my topic. This war did cause the creation of innovative technology. These creations include the nuclear weapon created by the Americans and the synthetic rubber. The Japanese needed synthetic rubber because they were not able to obtain rubber. The United States supplied Japan the rubber until the trading stopped due to war. When countries are engaged in war they are able to use their creative skills to innovate in the field of technology.

The Harvard Mark I is a computer that I enjoyed learning about. First off this computer or massive calculator amazed Americans. Just four years prior to this, massive calculations had to be done manually. This boosted the morale of the American mathematicians. This is because the earliest computer the Zuse Z3was created by Germany in the year 1941. For the purpose of the war this was an advantage to the Nazi side. This government was able to use this computer and be able to show their strength.

Reading about this contraption made me astonished about the evolution of computers. Just 70 years ago the first computer was invented. Its only purpose was to do computations. This computer would have not fit in a regular size living room. 40 years later the personal computer was invented. These computers though used paper just like the punch cards to use its information. During this decade, the 80’s, the floppy disk, speakers, mouse, printer and the keyboard were introduced. During this time people were amazed because they were used to using a typewriter. Ten years later the laptop was introduced in the commercial market. This was a breakthrough because computers were now portable enough to fit in a book bag. In our lifetime we have already seen changes made towards computers. Net books were introduced five years ago. These mini laptops are about the size of a textbook, but with half the weight. I also consider the Ipod and I pad to be a breakthrough in the field of computers. I pods and I pads do most of the functions of a computer and they are less than an inch thick. Compared to the Harvard Mark I, the Ipod is a miracle.

My appreciation for computers is immense. There are people in the world today that have seen the whole evolution of computers. We are now getting to a point where progress to computers cannot be much innovating anymore. If Howard Aiken would have been alive today, he would have been proud to see the enormous progress that has been made to computers. Those calculations that needed to get done in the 40’s can now be done on a program on a laptop.

Works Cited
"Alan Turing." History of Computing Science:. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. http://www.eingang.org/Lecture/turing.html.

Harvard Mark I. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 June 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Mark_I.

"The IBM ASCC." Columbia University in the City of New York. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/ascc.html.

"IBM's ASCC Introduction 2." IBM Archives: IBM's ASCC (a.k.a. The Harvard Mark I). Web. 06 Mar. 2012. http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/markI/markI_intro2.html.

The Innovative Technology of 1920

The Innovative Technology of 1920

My blog posts are always about the innovative technology in present day. During the 1920’s the whole world was always innovating in the field of technology as well. Most of the technology that modernizes the 1920’s is considered to be out dated today. An example is the Model T Ford. This vehicle is considered to be a historic car and Ford has made huge advancements, like the Ford GT. There is though a piece of technology that has been important throughout the years which has not been outdated. This will be the radio.



The radio could have not been created if it were not for the telegraph and telephone. The discovery of electromagnetic waves made scientists realize that music, speech, pictures and other data could transmit invisibly through the air. Heinrich Rudolf Hertz demonstrated the rapid variations of electric current. The word hertz today describes the measurement of frequency.



Hertz is a factor that a radio utilizes. For instance if someone tunes to Z100 it is 100.3 FM. 100.3 is the frequency. The 100.3 FM means that the radio station has a frequency of 100.3 megahertz. This is one of the reasons why the FM stations only go from 87.5 FM to 106.1 FM. The difference between FM and AM are the hertz. The frequency of AM is measured in kilohertz. Kilohertz is represented as kHz. Megahertz is represented as MHz. The difference between the two is that the frequencies for FM are faster with a shorter length than AM. The distance or signal of FM is shorter than AM. This is one of the reasons why FM is used for music and AM is used for news for many decades now. With FM the sound is clearer and sharper. This is why FM radio stations can get a stereo signal while AM cannot.



Going back to innovative technology of the 1920’s, Gugliemo Marconi is considered to be the inventor of the radio. He was an Italian inventor that made radio communication easier. The first radio signal was received in 1895. The first successful transatlantic radiotelegraph message was in 1902 which was from England to Newfoundland. When the Titanic sank radio communication was used to alert the problem.



By the year 1920 the radio expanded to be used for more than official communication. In the beginning of the decade radios were used to broadcast news and world affairs. As the years passed by music started being played. The radio was viewed as an easy and economic way to tell information and ideas. The radio was able to bring the nation together to create one culture and a new way to advertise.



In the 1920’s radio manufacturers could not keep up with the demand for radios. Within the years of 1923 and 1930, 60% of American families had a radio. As radios kept increasing so did radio stations. By the year 1922 there were 600 radio stations in the United States. KDKA is considered to be the radio station that began broadcasting in the year 1920. At first the radio was used for public service, but a couple of years later radio stations made a private gain out of it. The Federal Radio Commission was set up in 1926 to regulate the air waves. Radio stations had a problem that their programs interfered with other radio stations. The Radio Act of 1927 organized the Federal Radio Commission. Radios have kept improving since the 1920’s. 90 years later the way radio stations transmit their programs is the same.




Radios are essential to human society today. Radios are used to communicate within airplanes, taxis, boats, police and firefighters. Before the terrorist attacks of September 11 firefighters and officers were not able to communicate with each other through the radio. Now the same radio is used to communicate with police officers and firefighters with a different frequency.



Having a radio also brings many benefits. First off people do not have to pay a subscription to be able to use the radio. With a television people have to pay for satellite or cable to take full advantage of their television. Radios are also quite cheap to attain. Stores sell radios for only five dollars. Radios are also quite important during black outs. When the power goes out a battery powered radio is usually the only form of entertainment. There is no statistic needed to believe that 99% of the American population has a radio.



Radios have also a huge important to drivers. Drivers are able to get their traffic news. This helps them to avoid congested roads. People as they are driving are also able to be informed of news and current weather. The radio is also a great way to avoid hypnosis while driving. In order to get a car moving, it needs gas, but to get the radio going it needs a working battery.
The way how a radio functions amazes me. Another fascinating of the radio is that radio signals are going through our body right now and we cannot even see it. The radio is actually just receiving radio signals. During the 1920’s kids were encouraged to build their own radios than buying it. Today kids build radios to participate in science fairs.



Many enhancements have occurred to the radio throughout the years. Radios can come so small that it can fit in a shirt pocket. Soap operas on the radio have switched over to shows. Now people can pay for a subscription to listen to satellite radio. Radio stations from all around the world can be heard online through an ipod or a Playstation Portable. Now the FCC or Federal Communications Commission regulates radio stations. The invention of the radio led to the invention of the television. The radio will never be replaced.



People take radios for granted. Mostly everyone never stop to think how important radios are. A century ago people never expected that a person’s voice could be projected over millions of people at the same time. In the year 1920 the radio was the innovative technology. Today the radio is the founder of modern communication.




Works Cited

Alfred, Randy. Sept. 29, 1920: Radio Goes Commercial. Digital image. Wired.com. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/09/dayintech_0929.

"The History of Radio." Did You Know? Web. 19 Jan. 2012. http://didyouknow.org/history/radiohistory/.

"PBS: Tesla - Master of Lightning: Who Invented Radio?" PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_whoradio.html.

"Radio History." Welcome to QSL.NET :: Web Services for Ham Radio Operators. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. http://www.qsl.net/n7jy/radiohst.html.

"Untitled." American Studies @ The University of Virginia. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug00/3on1/radioshow/1920radio.htm.

The Astonishing Iphone 4s

Iphone 4s

The average person normally says what more can be added to an iphone. This question has been answered. On the 14^th of October the new iphone 4s will be out. This by the name indicates that the iphone has not been innovated completely. On October 4^th the iphone 4s was introduced in Cupertino, California. Unfortunately Steve Jobs was not the person who introduced it.

The new iphone has the same design as the older version of the iphone 4. This phone has a faster processor which means it can handle more work load on it. Tim Cook the presenter of the iphone 4s explained that Apple has put in a dual-core A5 CPU. CPU stands for computer processing unit. Alongside the new CPU there is also a new dual core GPU. GPU stands for Graphing Processing Unit. This boosts up the graphic performance up to seven times. On the back of the iphone there is a glass plate. It does not matter how the person holds the iphone because it does not drop calls. Dropping calls was the main complaint that customers have with the iphone 4.

When people buy the iphone 4s they will be able to notice these features without knowing about CPUs and GPUs. The camera has been improved to an eight mega-pixel. The iphone 4 is said to only be 4 mega-pixel and only 720p definition to record video. The camera has been improved to take better low light pictures. This camera can also offer more vibrant colors. The iphone 4s can record 1080p high definition video. The camera only takes 1.1 seconds to take a picture. The speed to take a photo is much faster than most smart phones. The camera also has a new image signal processor. The image signal processor does not relate to the acronym as ISP which stands for Internet Service Provider. This image processor was meant for the image to be stable and for face detection.

The iphone did copy a feature from the Android. The person can tap the microphone on the keyboard. Then the person talks to the phone and the words they say becomes text. The person can also do this to check the weather, find directions or to search information on the internet. This feature was made by the Siri virtual assistant tech.

The battery life on the iphone 4s varies. The person can talk for eight hours if it is 3G without charging it. When the person has 2G they can talk for 14 hours. When the person is web browsing over 3G the battery life can be sustained for six hours. With Wi-fi the person will get nine hours to use the internet without charging. Playing videos on it will last for ten hours. When the person listens to music it will last for 40 hours.

As always people want to know the options when to buy the iphone. The iphone 4s will come in black and white. A 16 gigabyte iphone 4s cost 199 dollars. The 32 gigabyte iphone 4s will cost 299 dollars. The most expensive iphone 4s which is the 64 gigabyte one will cost 399 dollars. Sprint will also be an iphone carrier. People can buy an iphone without a contract. The only problem with this unlocked version is that this iphone will not work on the Verizon and Sprint networks.

There is also interesting Apple news. People know that the mastermind of Apple, Steve Jobs, passed away. Now the new CEO of the company is Tim Cooks. There are now price drops on the ipods. The ipod shuffle is the only ipod that did not get a price drop though. The ipod touch now starts at 199 dollars which was originally at 229 dollars. The ipod nano now starts at 129 dollars which was originally sold at 149 dollars. There are now digital watch faces including a Mickey Mouse one for the ipod nano. A new operating system for Macintosh computers already has six million downloads. In the past decade 300 million ipods have been up for sale. There are now 20 million songs that people can get from itunes. When itunes first started only 200,000 songs were available. 18 billion downloads have been made from the app store. The app store has 500,000 applications available to download. The new software of the iOS 5 is now available to buy on October 12, 2011. The icloud has now have been transformed to not sync devices. The Apple icloud features the itunes match which lets you put music not bought on itunes to be put on itunes match for an annual fee of $24.95. The iphone 3GS will also come out and it will be free if the person settles into a two year contract. Apple has made this deal for more consumers to join the iphone family. Since the iphone was launched in the year 2007 it has been 50% of Apple’s annual profits. This iphone has also increased sales for Verizon and AT&T; soon enough Sprint will have a taste of the sales. To conclude, may Steve Jobs rest in piece.

I do not have an iphone, but there are some negative sides to the iphone 4s coming out. Now all the money that people spent on their iphone 4 is worth nothing. Apple has a tactic that by them to keep selling iphones or ipods, they make a huge deal by creating a new ipod or iphone that only has five new features. This is a problem because people will keep buying them and not realize that six months later they will have a same product, but with the same new five features. Apple does not say it, but I believe that they have already invented the ultimate iphone, but they’re going to start selling it when they cannot add five more features to the already existing iphone.

There are positive more positive sides to the iphone 4s though. As always the iphone 4s will stimulate the economy globally. The people whose carrier is Sprint could now have the ability to get the iphone 4s without switching carrier. There are going to be more happy buyers because now people can “actually” talk on their iphone. The iphone is not going to be the Model T Ford anymore that only came in one color because there will be white iphones. Texting and researching on the web is much efficient because people can now get answers on the internet by speaking to it. This will help out the multi tasking people because this iphone will totally be hands free. This idea should now be used on Microsoft Word, because it will be much faster if essays were spoken than typed.

I believed that the absence of Steve Jobs is not going to hurt Apple that badly. Steve Jobs showed the legacy of the Apple Company. The company has been doing well since Steve Jobs retired. The marketing department already knew his tactics upon producing money. The best innovators in the technology field already work for Apple which means they will keep making world changing products. The benefit of this company is that there is an 18 billion dollar surplus and zero dollars in debt which means there is room for failed marketing. Steve Jobs was the pioneer of Apple, it’s now up to the employees to make it last.

My idea of the ultimate Ipod has been made. First off I will offer a built in Internet for iphones and ipods. This could mean people would be able to talk without the use of a carrier. This is because people could just pay Skype to talk on the phone. If this plan was carried out I would be helping out the consumer, but not Apple itself. The ultimate ipod will have 256 gigabytes which is quadruple the memory size of the biggest iphone that a person could get. The vision iphone will be indestructible and scratch less. The battery will last for two days. This can really be useful when hurricanes pass by. Lastly, I would install a 21 mega-pixel camera which can record in 3 dimensional and this ipod or iphone will only cost 200 dollars.

Bibliography

Iphone 4s Picture

O'Brien, Terrence. "IPhone 4S Officially Announced: Lands October 14th Starting at $199 in Sizes up to 64GB, Coming to Sprint." Engadget. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. .

Iphone 4s Information

"New IPhone 4S Camera Sharp – USATODAY.com." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. .

O'Brien, Terrence. IPhone 4S Officially Announced: Lands October 14th Starting at $199 in Sizes up to 64GB, Coming to Sprint. Digital image. Engadget. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. .

The Precipitating Laser

                On the month of August the University of Geneva created an invention to manipulate the weather themselves. The invention consists of a laser beam. The function of the laser beam is known as laser assisted water condensation. The term might seem sophisticated, but the function of the laser beam is to produce droplets of rain.  A portable laser laboratory (the size of a garage) was taken from the University of Geneva to the banks of the Rhone River near Lake Geneva.  Lake Geneva is located in Switzerland.  133 hours were spent on this experiment.

                The conclusion of this experiment gave important information of the results found. Nitric Acid was created when the laser beam was fired into the air. This process drew water molecules together which also stop them from evaporating. In other words it’s as if clouds were forming into dark clouds. The experiment did produce precipitation. The precipitation didn’t produce as thick rain drops to consider it as rain. Dry air could not make this experiment function.  In other words humidity needs to be in the air to cause the laser beam to work.  In this experiment mist was the precipitation created.  The efforts to produce rain have been done before. It began in 1946 when the Chinese spread silver iodine into the sky. This method does not function properly because it never produced down pour rain and the chemical silver iodine polluted the sky. Researchers at the university like Physicist Jerome Kasparian have said that there is going to be improvements to the laser beam. The researchers hope to produce down pours and also be able to stop raining with the laser beam by saturating the air.

                As a reader I find that this invention is ideal to the human society. Rain has always been part of the human society. In the future, droughts might become extinct because someone might be able to come and produce rain. Desserts could have rainfall which would rapidly turn the dessert into fertile land. Farmers could have a higher probability of not losing crops due to little or too much precipitation. 

                If the researchers are also able to stop the rain it would also be beneficial. Too much rain causes flooding which is very destructive. The laser beam could in the future put a stop to hurricanes and tornados. Too much destruction and deaths are caused by these forms of rain. Blizzards could be stopped which would prevent students from using snow days and also prevent ice. Ice is the cause for many accidents in the winter. Controlling Mother Nature would be one of man kind’s turning points.

                The laser beam seems innocent but I also believe that there are consequences to it. When the laser beam is used nitric acid forms. In chemistry class we have learned that nitric acid is hazardous. It’ll be quite realistic that having nitric acid in the air will still be harmful to the human kind. If people breathe this they could die overtime. This chemical is also harmful to the animals and to the trees. It is quite obvious that by having this beam it will cause health concerns. Another problem with manipulating rain is some people might or not want rain. The question is how will the person in charge of the rain producing will decide. Having this piece of this technology will only be great only if these problems have been resolved.

Bibliography

"Laser-assisted Water Condensation Could Be Used to Create Rainfall | Mail Online." Home | Mail Online. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2032057/Laser-assisted-water-condensation-used-create-rainfall.html.

Sample, Ian. "Firing Laser Beams into the Sky Could Make It Rain, Say Scientists | Science | The Guardian." Latest News, Sport and Comment from the Guardian | Guardian.co.uk. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/aug/30/firing-laser-beams-atmosphere-rain  

Collins, Nick. "Laser Beams Could Be Used to Create Rain - Telegraph." Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph Online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8731544/Laser-beams-could-be-used-to-create-rain.html

The Importance of Technology

  

         Everyday the human population relies on technology. Some technology is older than others but the human population depends on it. People never acknowledge some of the technology around them because they weren’t alive when the item was commercialized. An example is the elevator. The person who created the elevator had the intention to make it for the people who couldn’t be able to go up the stairs. After many years the population doesn’t take notice of the importance of the elevator.

            The elevators have been improved to do more functions. Now the elevators can open on both doors. Taller skyscrapers could be made thanks to the technology. Many skyscrapers have created express elevators which consist of skipping floors which are used in skyscrapers. Thanks to the elevator, jobs have been made in New York to attend the elevators. This has been the cause for my interest. Everyday technology is being made or it’s being improved to satisfy the needs of the population. Having this blog is important because then the students can see the technology that has been made recently. Then after 20 years from now students can come back to this blog and see how the technology made today has evolve in the future.