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Cyhist Apr 3 1997 A
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Date: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 16:23:41 BST
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: Jon Agar <AGAR@FS4.MA.MAN.AC.UK>
Subject: IBM "Stretch" 7030
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Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
>>Does anyone know about the service use of the IBM Stretch computer?
>There were 7 or 8 Stretches built. They went to Livermore, Los Alamos, MITRE, NSA, ... and I don't know where else. Serial 1 I think went ot
one Stretch was hired by the UK Atomic Energy Authority for their atomic weapons establishment at Aldermaston. This was despite Treasury pressure to order a Ferranti Atlas
William Penney could justify the decision because of a need for fast calculation and simulation following nuclear tests in Australia. To quote him:
...the Government has approved small scale experiemntal explosions in Australia in order to investigate the safety of atomic weapons. It is only by the use of a very large computer that teh number of practical experiments is kept down, which is desirable both on political and financial grounds. It is rather cheaper to get results by calculation. (28 June 1960)
ironically, the lack of government orders for the Atlas was a crucial factor behind the commercial failure of this project - when built it was claimed to be as fast as any computer in the world - and ended the line of British top of the range computers.
Jon Agar
National Archive for the History of Computing Manchester University
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Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: Jon Agar <AGAR@FS4.MA.MAN.AC.UK>
Subject: IBM "Stretch" 7030
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
>>Does anyone know about the service use of the IBM Stretch computer?
>There were 7 or 8 Stretches built. They went to Livermore, Los Alamos, MITRE, NSA, ... and I don't know where else. Serial 1 I think went ot
one Stretch was hired by the UK Atomic Energy Authority for their atomic weapons establishment at Aldermaston. This was despite Treasury pressure to order a Ferranti Atlas
William Penney could justify the decision because of a need for fast calculation and simulation following nuclear tests in Australia. To quote him:
...the Government has approved small scale experiemntal explosions in Australia in order to investigate the safety of atomic weapons. It is only by the use of a very large computer that teh number of practical experiments is kept down, which is desirable both on political and financial grounds. It is rather cheaper to get results by calculation. (28 June 1960)
ironically, the lack of government orders for the Atlas was a crucial factor behind the commercial failure of this project - when built it was claimed to be as fast as any computer in the world - and ended the line of British top of the range computers.
Jon Agar
National Archive for the History of Computing Manchester University
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