Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!ico!ism780c!news
From: news@ism780c.isc.com (News system)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Magnetic amplifiers? [was Re: Mercury delay lines]
Message-ID: <43809@ism780c.isc.com>
Date: 12 Jun 90 19:48:08 GMT
References: <2072@mindlink.UUCP>
Reply-To: marv@ism780.UUCP (Marvin Rubenstein)
Organization: Interactive Systems Corp., Santa Monica CA
Lines: 17

In article <2072@mindlink.UUCP> a186@mindlink.UUCP (Harvey Taylor) writes:
>
>    Speaking of old technologies, in A Few Good Men from Univac,
> Lundstrom says(Page 22):
>    "Magnetic amplifier circuits were thought for a brief time
> to be the most suitable replacement for vacuum tubes in computers.
> They were superseded by transistors before much design was done
> with them."

In the late 50's, Sperry Rand (or may be it was still Remington Rand)
manufactured machines called the "Solid State 80" and "Solid State 90".
These machine were based an magnetic amplifiers.  The only difference between
the machines was that the 80 model processed standard 80 character Holerith
code and the 90 model processed 90 charcter cards.  The machine used a
magnetic drum for its main memory.

     Marv Rubinstein