Xref: utzoo sci.math:6980 comp.misc:6289 Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!iuvax!rutgers!apple!baum From: baum@Apple.COM (Allen J. Baum) Newsgroups: sci.math,comp.misc Subject: Re: Base 3 computers? (was: Divide by three?) Message-ID: <32318@apple.Apple.COM> Date: 8 Jun 89 23:55:31 GMT References: <6710021@hpcupt1.HP.COM> <6250@sunray.UUCP> <28301@ism780c.isc.com> Reply-To: baum@apple.UUCP (Allen Baum) Organization: Apple Computer, Inc. Lines: 21 [] >In article <28301@ism780c.isc.com> marv@ism780.UUCP (Marvin Rubenstein) writes: >In article <6250@sunray.UUCP> alanm@cognos.UUCP (Alan Myrvold) writes: >>I recall hearing about a USSR computer that did base 3 arithmetic, and even >>had a Fortran compiler. Does anyone have details or a reference ??? >> > >In the mid to late 50's I heard a lecture by Willis Ware, who had returned >from a tour of the USSR's computer facilities. He did say that they had >built a base three computer. But since they could not build tri-stable >devices, they simulated them with a pair of flip flops. Hmm, I was under the impression that they actually built them with real three state device, called parametrons. This is transformer coupled logic, where the value on a signal is phase encoded, so 0 degree phase shift is 0, 120 degree phase shift is a one, 240 (or -120) degree phase shift is a 2. You can get all sort of logic functions, just be coupling the signals in strange ways with a transformer. -- baum@apple.com (408)974-3385 {decwrl,hplabs}!amdahl!apple!baum