en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC
4 corrections found
By the end of its operation in 1956
ENIAC was not still operating in 1956. Credible histories place its retirement on October 2, 1955.
Full reasoning
This date is off by a year. Multiple historical sources place ENIAC’s shutdown in 1955, not 1956.
Computer History Museum’s "This Day in History" entry states that ENIAC was retired on October 2, 1955. The Army history Electronic Computers Within The Ordnance Corps gives the same endpoint more precisely, stating that "at 11:45 PM on 2 October 1955 the power to ENIAC was removed."
Because ENIAC had already been retired in October 1955, describing its components as of "the end of its operation in 1956" is incorrect.
2 sources
- October 2: ENIAC Computer Retired | Computer History Museum
october 2, 1955 ENIAC Computer Retired ... After eleven years of calculating and processing programs, the ENIAC was retired.
- Electronic Computers Within The Ordnance Corps, ENIAC
The workload was gradually shifted to these other machines and at 11:45 PM on 2 October 1955 the power to ENIAC was removed.
The Smithsonian has five panels
The Smithsonian’s own collection records show more than five distinct ENIAC panels/components. There are official entries for at least six separate items, so the count of “five panels” is incorrect.
Full reasoning
This count is demonstrably too low. The Smithsonian/National Museum of American History has separate collection records for multiple ENIAC panels/components, including at least these six distinct items:
- ENIAC Initiating Unit
- ENIAC Accumulator #20
- ENIAC High Speed Multiplier Panel 2
- ENIAC Function Table #3, Panel 2
- ENIAC Printer Panel 1
- ENIAC Divider And Square Rooter
Since six separate official object records already exceed the article’s count of five, the statement "The Smithsonian has five panels" is incorrect. The sentence’s own parenthetical list also names more than five distinct ENIAC pieces.
6 sources
- ENIAC Printer Panel 1 | National Museum of American History
# ENIAC Printer Panel 1 ... Record ID Number nmah_334254
- ENIAC Divider And Square Rooter | National Museum of American History
# ENIAC Divider And Square Rooter ... Record ID Number nmah_334745
- ENIAC Initiating Unit | National Museum of American History
# ENIAC Initiating Unit ... Record ID Number nmah_334262
- ENIAC Accumulator #20 | National Museum of American History
# ENIAC Accumulator #20 ... Record ID Number nmah_334253
- ENIAC High Speed Multiplier Panel 2 | National Museum of American History
# ENIAC High Speed Multiplier Panel 2 ... Record ID Number nmah_334256
- ENIAC Function Table #3, Panel 2 | National Museum of American History
# ENIAC Function Table #3, Panel 2 ... Record ID Number nmah_739236
The United States Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, where ENIAC was used, has Portable Function Table A.
This location is outdated. Official Army history says the Ordnance Museum moved away from Aberdeen Proving Ground to Fort Lee, Virginia.
Full reasoning
Official U.S. Army sources say the Ordnance Museum is no longer at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
The Aberdeen Proving Ground history page states that under BRAC, "The Ordnance Center and Schools, as well as the Ordnance Museum, moved to Fort Lee, Virginia" and that by September 2011, all BRAC activities were completed at APG. A separate Army article from 2009 documents the start of the move of the Army Ordnance Museum collection from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., to its new home at Fort Lee, Va.
So the statement that the United States Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland has the ENIAC piece is outdated/incorrect as written, because the Ordnance Museum was relocated from Aberdeen to Fort Lee (now Fort Gregg-Adams area).
2 sources
- History :: U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground
The Ordnance Center and Schools, as well as the Ordnance Museum, moved to Fort Lee, Virginia... By September 2011, all BRAC activities were completed at APG.
- Army Ordnance Museum begins move to Fort Lee | The United States Army
The first phase of the move of the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum collection from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., to its new home at Fort Lee, Va. began Aug. 4...
6,000 relays
Authoritative ENIAC histories put the relay count at about 1,500, not 6,000.
Full reasoning
The relay count here is too high by roughly a factor of four.
Official and museum sources consistently describe ENIAC as having about 1,500 relays. The U.S. Army history Electronic Computers Within The Ordnance Corps states: "Its 19,000 vacuum tubes (16 different types), 1,500 relays...". The National Museum of the United States Army likewise summarizes ENIAC’s components as "17,468 vacuum tubes, 7,200 crystal diodes, 1,500 relays, 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors..."
So the article’s specific claim of "6,000 relays" is contradicted by standard historical descriptions of the machine.
2 sources
- Electronic Computers Within The Ordnance Corps, ENIAC
Its 19,000 vacuum tubes (16 different types), 1,500 relays, and many thousands of resistors, capacitors, and inductors consumed about 174 kilowatts of electrical power.
- National Museum of the United States Army: ENIAC
ENIAC contained 17,468 vacuum tubes, 7,200 crystal diodes, 1,500 relays, 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors and around 5 million hand-soldered joints.