The Computer From Pascal To Von Neumann

Author : Herman H. Goldstine
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 399 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2008-09-02
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781400820139

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The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann by Herman H. Goldstine Pdf

In 1942, Lt. Herman H. Goldstine, a former mathematics professor, was stationed at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. It was there that he assisted in the creation of the ENIAC, the first electronic digital computer. The ENIAC was operational in 1945, but plans for a new computer were already underway. The principal source of ideas for the new computer was John von Neumann, who became Goldstine's chief collaborator. Together they developed EDVAC, successor to ENIAC. After World War II, at the Institute for Advanced Study, they built what was to become the prototype of the present-day computer. Herman Goldstine writes as both historian and scientist in this first examination of the development of computing machinery, from the seventeenth century through the early 1950s. His personal involvement lends a special authenticity to his narrative, as he sprinkles anecdotes and stories liberally through his text.

Author : Herman Heine Goldstine
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 1993
Category : Computers
ISBN : OCLC:278167346

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The Computer by Herman Heine Goldstine Pdf

Author : Herman Heine Goldstine
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 378 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 1993
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OCLC:794962654

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The Computer by Herman Heine Goldstine Pdf

Author : John Von Neumann
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 116 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2000-01-01
Category : Computers
ISBN : 0300084730

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The Computer and the Brain by John Von Neumann Pdf

This book represents the views of one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century on the analogies between computing machines and the living human brain. John von Neumann concludes that the brain operates in part digitally, in part analogically, but uses a peculiar statistical language unlike that employed in the operation of man-made computers. This edition includes a new foreword by two eminent figures in the fields of philosophy, neuroscience, and consciousness.

Author : Walter Isaacson
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 560 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2014-10-07
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781476708690

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The Innovators by Walter Isaacson Pdf

A revelatory history of the people who created the computer and the internet discusses the process through which innovation happens in the modern world, citing the pivotal contributions of such figures as programming pioneer Ada Lovelace. By the author of Steve Jobs. 500,000 first printing.

Author : Chaim Gingold
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 488 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2024-06-04
Category : Games & Activities
ISBN : 9780262547482

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Building SimCity by Chaim Gingold Pdf

A deep dive into the trailblazing simulation game SimCity, situating it in the history of games, simulation, and computing. Building SimCity explores the history of computer simulation by chronicling one of the most influential simulation games ever made: SimCity. As author Chaim Gingold explains, Will Wright, the visionary designer behind the urban planning game, created SimCity in part to learn about cities, appropriating ideas from traditions in which computers are used as tools for modeling and thinking about the world as a complex system. As such, SimCity is a microcosm of the histories and cultures of computer simulation that engages with questions, themes, and representational techniques that reach back to the earliest computer simulations. Gingold uses SimCity to explore a web of interrelated topics in the history of technology, software, and simulation, taking us far and wide—from the dawn of programmable computers to miniature cities made of construction paper and role-play. An unprecedented history of Maxis, the company founded to bring SimCity to market, the book reveals Maxis’s complex relations with venture capitalists, Nintendo, and the Santa Fe Institute, which shaped the evolution of Will Wright’s career; Maxis’s failure to back The Sims to completion; and the company’s sale to Electronic Arts. A lavishly visual book, Building SimCity boasts a treasure trove of visual matter to help bring its wide-ranging subjects to life, including painstakingly crafted diagrams that explain SimCity’s operation, the Kodachrome photographs taken by Charles Eames of schoolchildren making model cities, and Nintendo’s manga-style “Dr. Wright” character design, just to name a few.

Author : John Gribbin
Publisher : Random House
Page : 277 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2023-08-03
Category : Computers
ISBN : 9781529914061

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Quantum Computing from Colossus to Qubits by John Gribbin Pdf

The revolution is here. In breakthrough after breakthrough, pioneering physicists are unlocking a new quantum universe which provides a better representation of reality than our everyday experiences and common sense ever could. The birth of quantum computers - which, like Schrödinger's famous dead-and-alive cat, rely on entities like electrons existing in a mixture of states - is starting to turn the computing world on its head. In his fascinating study of this cutting-edge technology (first published as Computing with Quantum Cats and now featuring a new foreword), John Gribbin updates his previous views on the nature of quantum reality, arguing for a universe of many parallel worlds where 'everything is real'. Looking back to Alan Turing's work on the Enigma machine and the first electronic computer, Gribbin explains how quantum theory developed to make quantum computers work in practice as well as in principle. He takes us beyond the arena of theoretical physics to explore their practical applications - from machines which learn through 'intuition' and trial and error to unhackable laptops and smartphones. And he investigates the potential for this extraordinary science to allow communication faster than light and even teleportation, as we step into a world of infinite possibility.

Author : Ernest J. Henley,Jeffery Lewins
Publisher : Elsevier
Page : 378 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2014-05-09
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9781483215662

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Advances in Nuclear Science and Technology by Ernest J. Henley,Jeffery Lewins Pdf

Advances in Nuclear Science and Technology, Volume 9 provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of nuclear science and technology. This book discusses the safe and beneficial development of land-based nuclear power plants. Organized into five chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the possible consequences of a large-scale release of radioactivity from a nuclear reactor in the event of a serious accident. This text then discusses the extension of conventional perturbation techniques to multidimensional systems and to high-order approximations of the Boltzmann equation. Other chapters consider details of probability treatment of the conventionally assumed loss-of-pressure accident to a modern gas-cooled reactor. This book discusses as well details of reliability analysis of a typical electromechanical protective system. The final chapter deals with the computer applications and the need for standardization as both computing and nuclear energy shifted from research and development to industry status. This book is a valuable resource for reactor physicists, engineers, scientists, and research workers.

Author : Alan Mathison Turing
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 622 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2004-09-09
Category : Computers
ISBN : 9780198250791

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The Essential Turing by Alan Mathison Turing Pdf

Lectures, scientific papers, top secret wartime material, correspondence, and broadcasts are introduced and set in context by Jack Copeland, Director of the Turing Archive for the History of Computing."--Jacket.

Author : William Aspray
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 397 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 1990-12-07
Category : Computers
ISBN : 9780262518857

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John von Neumann and the Origins of Modern Computing by William Aspray Pdf

William Aspray provides the first broad and detailed account of von Neumann's many different contributions to computing. John von Neumann (1903-1957) was unquestionably one of the most brilliant scientists of the twentieth century. He made major contributions to quantum mechanics and mathematical physics and in 1943 began a new and all-too-short career in computer science. William Aspray provides the first broad and detailed account of von Neumann's many different contributions to computing. These, Aspray reveals, extended far beyond his well-known work in the design and construction of computer systems to include important scientific applications, the revival of numerical analysis, and the creation of a theory of computing.Aspray points out that from the beginning von Neumann took a wider and more theoretical view than other computer pioneers. In the now famous EDVAC report of 1945, von Neumann clearly stated the idea of a stored program that resides in the computer's memory along with the data it was to operate on. This stored program computer was described in terms of idealized neurons, highlighting the analogy between the digital computer and the human brain. Aspray describes von Neumann's development during the next decade, and almost entirely alone, of a theory of complicated information processing systems, or automata, and the introduction of themes such as learning, reliability of systems with unreliable components, self-replication, and the importance of memory and storage capacity in biological nervous systems; many of these themes remain at the heart of current investigations in parallel or neurocomputing.Aspray allows the record to speak for itself. He unravels an intricate sequence of stories generated by von Neumann's work and brings into focus the interplay of personalities centered about von Neumann. He documents the complex interactions of science, the military, and business and shows how progress in applied mathematics was intertwined with that in computers. William Aspray is Director of the Center for the History of Electrical Engineering at The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Author : James W. Cortada
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 181 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2016-09-16
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781315287751

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The Computer in the United States by James W. Cortada Pdf

This book studies how a technological innovation -- in this case the computer -- progresses from its origin as an idea in someone's mind to its eventual manifestation as a useable and marketable consumer product.

Author : John Gribbin
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 317 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2023-01-15
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781633888715

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Computing with Quantum Cats by John Gribbin Pdf

The quantum computer is no longer the stuff of science fiction. Pioneering physicists are on the brink of unlocking a new quantum universe which provides a better representation of reality than our everyday experiences and common sense ever could. The birth of quantum computers - which, like Schrödinger's famous "dead and alive" cat, rely on entities like electrons, photons, or atoms existing in two states at the same time - is set to turn the computing world on its head. In his fascinating study of this cutting-edge technology, and featuring a new introduction, John Gribbin explores the nature of quantum reality, arguing for a universe of many parallel worlds where "everything is real." Looking back to Alan Turing's work on the Enigma machine and the first electronic computer, Gribbin explains how quantum theory developed to make quantum computers work in practice as well as in principle. He takes us beyond the arena of theoretical physics to explore their practical applications - from machines which learn through "intuition" and trial and error to unhackable laptops and smartphones. And he investigates the potential for this extraordinary science to create a world where communication occurs faster than light and teleportation is possible. This is an exciting insider's look at the new frontier of computer science and its revolutionary implications.

Author : Karen Hunger Parshall
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 640 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2022-02-22
Category : History
ISBN : 9780691235240

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The New Era in American Mathematics, 1920–1950 by Karen Hunger Parshall Pdf

"The 1920s witnessed the birth of a serious mathematical research community in America. Prior to this, mathematical research was dominated by scholars based in Europe-but World War I had made the importance of scientific and technological development clear to the American research community, resulting in the establishment of new scientific initiatives and infrastructure. Physics and chemistry were the beneficiaries of this renewed scientific focus, but the mathematical community also benefitted, and over time, began to flourish. Over the course of the next two decades, despite significant obstacles, this constellation of mathematical researchers, programs, and government infrastructure would become one of the strongest in the world. In this meticulously-researched book, Karen Parshall documents the uncertain, but ultimately successful, rise of American mathematics during this time. Drawing on research carried out in archives around the country and around the world, as well as on the secondary literature, she reveals how geopolitical circumstances shifted the course of international mathematics. She provides surveys of the mathematical research landscape in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, introduces the key players and institutions in mathematics at that time, and documents the effect of the Great Depression and the second world war on the international mathematical community. The result is a comprehensive account of the shift of mathematics' "center of gravity" to the American stage"--

Author : Harry Henderson
Publisher : Infobase Holdings, Inc
Page : 314 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2020-01-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781438183275

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A to Z of Computer Scientists, Updated Edition by Harry Henderson Pdf

Praise for the previous edition: "Entries are written with enough clarity and simplicity to appeal to general audiences. The additional readings that end each profile give excellent pointers for more detailed information...Recommended."—Choice "This well-written collection of biographies of the most important contributors to the computer world...is a valuable resource for those interested in the men and women who were instrumental in making the world we live in today. This is a recommended purchase for reference collections."—American Reference Books Annual "...this one is recommended for high-school, public, and undergraduate libraries."—Booklist The significant role that the computer plays in the business world, schools, and homes speaks to the impact it has on our daily lives. While many people are familiar with the Internet, online shopping, and basic computer technology, the scientists who pioneered this digital age are generally less well-known. A to Z of Computer Scientists, Updated Edition features 136 computer pioneers and shows the ways in which these individuals developed their ideas, overcame technical and institutional challenges, collaborated with colleagues, and created products or institutions of lasting importance. The cutting-edge, contemporary entries explore a diverse group of inventors, scientists, entrepreneurs, and visionaries in the computer science field. People covered include: Grace Hopper (1906–1992) Dennis Ritchie (1941–2011) Brian Kernighan (1942–present) Howard Rheingold (1947–present) Bjarne Stroustrup (1950–present) Esther Dyson (1951–present) Silvio Micali (1954–present) Jeff Bezos (1964–present) Pierre Omidyar (1967–present) Jerry Yang (1968–present)

Author : George Dyson
Publisher : Pantheon
Page : 466 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2012-03-06
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780307907066

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Turing's Cathedral by George Dyson Pdf

“It is possible to invent a single machine which can be used to compute any computable sequence,” twenty-four-year-old Alan Turing announced in 1936. In Turing’s Cathedral, George Dyson focuses on a small group of men and women, led by John von Neumann at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, who built one of the first computers to realize Alan Turing’s vision of a Universal Machine. Their work would break the distinction between numbers that mean things and numbers that do things—and our universe would never be the same. Using five kilobytes of memory (the amount allocated to displaying the cursor on a computer desktop of today), they achieved unprecedented success in both weather prediction and nuclear weapons design, while tackling, in their spare time, problems ranging from the evolution of viruses to the evolution of stars. Dyson’s account, both historic and prophetic, sheds important new light on how the digital universe exploded in the aftermath of World War II. The proliferation of both codes and machines was paralleled by two historic developments: the decoding of self-replicating sequences in biology and the invention of the hydrogen bomb. It’s no coincidence that the most destructive and the most constructive of human inventions appeared at exactly the same time. How did code take over the world? In retracing how Alan Turing’s one-dimensional model became John von Neumann’s two-dimensional implementation, Turing’s Cathedral offers a series of provocative suggestions as to where the digital universe, now fully three-dimensional, may be heading next.