Isaac Stone
21 April, 2015
Konrad Zuse: Inventing the Computer
Computers are an intricate part of the lifestyle many Americans live today. The man credited with creating the first computer was a man named Konrad Zuse. As a mechanical engineer he had been taught to question the way operations were carried out and to find or create a more efficient means of carrying out that same task. During World War Two, Zuse produced the first programmable computer and discovered binary code, forever changing the way the world as a whole functioned.
Zuse began work on Z1 because he was fed up with having to input all the mathematical processes he did by hand. “Zuse was a construction engineer for Henschel Aircraft Company in Berlin, Germany at the beginning of WWII”. (Bellis) While working at Henschel, he had to make complicated mathematical calculations while recording each step on a machine similar to a type-writer for cataloging. The lengthy process of typing each operation into the type-writer prompted Konrad Zuse to say, “Berlin is a nice town and there were many opportunities for a student to spend his time in an agreeable manner, for instance with the nice girls. But instead of that we had to perform big and awful calculations.”(The German Way) As the frustration built, Zuse began thinking about how to make an automatic calculator to cut down the work needed to be done by hand.
Zuse began building Z1 in 1938 after having purchased nearly 1000 Kg of sheet metal and a jig saw; Zuse brought them home to his parents’ house. Setting up a work area in the living room of his parents’ home he began building by hand the nearly twenty thousand parts needed to run the machine. Using a series of relays, Zuse was able to create a binary system using yes/no code punched into an old film reel. The invention, completed in 1941, was recognized years later by The Computer Museum History Center saying,
“In 1941, Konrad Zuse created the first fully-automated, program-controlled, and freely-programmable computer for binary floating-point calculations, and later, the basic programming system, Plankalkül. His contributions were so striking, and made under such adversity, that the History Center has made an exception to its usual practice and named him a Fellow posthumously.“ (Computer Museum)
Though the binary code that Zuse had made for Z1 has been changed into numbers of 0 and 1 for modern computer use, the system he produced is still largely used today.
The Nazi party did not care about the computer and overlooked the possible significance such a technological breakthrough could hold. When Zuse was done with the planning of how to build his first computer he presented his ideas to the Nazi generals in charge of production. They were unimpressed by the presentation and could not see how Zuse’s creation could aid in the war effort. As a result they did not give Zuse any funding, time, or space in which he could safely work and create his computer. Due to the lack of resources Zuse produced his computers using,
“recycled materials donated by fellow university staff and students. This was the world's first electronic, fully programmable digital computer based on a binary floating-point number and switching system. Zuse used old movie film to store his programs and data for the Z3, instead of using paper tape or punched cards. Paper was in short supply in Germany during the war.” (Bellis)
Without backing by the Nazi’s, Zuse pushed on with the materials he could scrounge up and continued to produce ground-breaking technology.
Konrad Zuse went on to make the first computer available for public purchasing. “Zuse began the first computer company which was instrumental in getting the idea of using a computer, or calculator as we know them today, into public hands and promoted the further advance of such technology until what we know today is now possible” (Wentzle). Zuse’s company, Zuse KG, continued the production of Zuse’s computers after the war ended. The company flourished with the public interest in the new technology. Zuse KG made modifications on Zuse’s original ideas of relays and binary code until 1961 when,
“The Z23 and the Z22 (built with vacuum tubes) were remarkable in that they constituted the first radical departure from the architecture of all previous Zuse machines. Their internal structure consisted of serial registers, which allowed the use of fewer components. The number of instructions was kept to a minimum. A compiler allowed programmers to write code with a syntax that was in between assembly code and a high-level programming language. After the Z22 and Z23, Zuse would often confide that the new machines were being designed not by him but by his engineers” (Encyclopedia).
Though not all of the new technology that Zuse’s engineers put into the new computers worked, through their trial and error they made numerous scientific breakthroughs that were key steps in the technological advances that surround the populus today.
The advances in technology that Zuse made throughout his lifetime have forever changed the world of computers. Starting from a small living room in his parents’ apartment, hand carving parts from whatever materials he could scavenge, and growing to produce more than 250 computers, Zuse proved to the Nazi party and eventually the world that computers could significantly impact the way society functions.
Works Cited
Bellis, Mary. “Inventors of The Modern Computer”. About.com Inventors. n.d. Web. 16 April
2015.
“Konrad Zuse- The first relay computer”. Computer History Museum. n.d. Web. 16 April 2015
The Computer Museum History Center. H. Flippo & Sons. n.d. Web. 17 April 2015.
“The German Way and More”. H. Flippo & Sons. n.d. Web. 17 April 2015.“
Wentzle, Hal. Personal Interview. 16 April 2015.
“Zuse, Konrad.” Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 18 April
2015. 18 April 2015.
21 April, 2015
Konrad Zuse: Inventing the Computer
Computers are an intricate part of the lifestyle many Americans live today. The man credited with creating the first computer was a man named Konrad Zuse. As a mechanical engineer he had been taught to question the way operations were carried out and to find or create a more efficient means of carrying out that same task. During World War Two, Zuse produced the first programmable computer and discovered binary code, forever changing the way the world as a whole functioned.
Zuse began work on Z1 because he was fed up with having to input all the mathematical processes he did by hand. “Zuse was a construction engineer for Henschel Aircraft Company in Berlin, Germany at the beginning of WWII”. (Bellis) While working at Henschel, he had to make complicated mathematical calculations while recording each step on a machine similar to a type-writer for cataloging. The lengthy process of typing each operation into the type-writer prompted Konrad Zuse to say, “Berlin is a nice town and there were many opportunities for a student to spend his time in an agreeable manner, for instance with the nice girls. But instead of that we had to perform big and awful calculations.”(The German Way) As the frustration built, Zuse began thinking about how to make an automatic calculator to cut down the work needed to be done by hand.
Zuse began building Z1 in 1938 after having purchased nearly 1000 Kg of sheet metal and a jig saw; Zuse brought them home to his parents’ house. Setting up a work area in the living room of his parents’ home he began building by hand the nearly twenty thousand parts needed to run the machine. Using a series of relays, Zuse was able to create a binary system using yes/no code punched into an old film reel. The invention, completed in 1941, was recognized years later by The Computer Museum History Center saying,
“In 1941, Konrad Zuse created the first fully-automated, program-controlled, and freely-programmable computer for binary floating-point calculations, and later, the basic programming system, Plankalkül. His contributions were so striking, and made under such adversity, that the History Center has made an exception to its usual practice and named him a Fellow posthumously.“ (Computer Museum)
Though the binary code that Zuse had made for Z1 has been changed into numbers of 0 and 1 for modern computer use, the system he produced is still largely used today.
The Nazi party did not care about the computer and overlooked the possible significance such a technological breakthrough could hold. When Zuse was done with the planning of how to build his first computer he presented his ideas to the Nazi generals in charge of production. They were unimpressed by the presentation and could not see how Zuse’s creation could aid in the war effort. As a result they did not give Zuse any funding, time, or space in which he could safely work and create his computer. Due to the lack of resources Zuse produced his computers using,
“recycled materials donated by fellow university staff and students. This was the world's first electronic, fully programmable digital computer based on a binary floating-point number and switching system. Zuse used old movie film to store his programs and data for the Z3, instead of using paper tape or punched cards. Paper was in short supply in Germany during the war.” (Bellis)
Without backing by the Nazi’s, Zuse pushed on with the materials he could scrounge up and continued to produce ground-breaking technology.
Konrad Zuse went on to make the first computer available for public purchasing. “Zuse began the first computer company which was instrumental in getting the idea of using a computer, or calculator as we know them today, into public hands and promoted the further advance of such technology until what we know today is now possible” (Wentzle). Zuse’s company, Zuse KG, continued the production of Zuse’s computers after the war ended. The company flourished with the public interest in the new technology. Zuse KG made modifications on Zuse’s original ideas of relays and binary code until 1961 when,
“The Z23 and the Z22 (built with vacuum tubes) were remarkable in that they constituted the first radical departure from the architecture of all previous Zuse machines. Their internal structure consisted of serial registers, which allowed the use of fewer components. The number of instructions was kept to a minimum. A compiler allowed programmers to write code with a syntax that was in between assembly code and a high-level programming language. After the Z22 and Z23, Zuse would often confide that the new machines were being designed not by him but by his engineers” (Encyclopedia).
Though not all of the new technology that Zuse’s engineers put into the new computers worked, through their trial and error they made numerous scientific breakthroughs that were key steps in the technological advances that surround the populus today.
The advances in technology that Zuse made throughout his lifetime have forever changed the world of computers. Starting from a small living room in his parents’ apartment, hand carving parts from whatever materials he could scavenge, and growing to produce more than 250 computers, Zuse proved to the Nazi party and eventually the world that computers could significantly impact the way society functions.
Works Cited
Bellis, Mary. “Inventors of The Modern Computer”. About.com Inventors. n.d. Web. 16 April
2015.
“Konrad Zuse- The first relay computer”. Computer History Museum. n.d. Web. 16 April 2015
The Computer Museum History Center. H. Flippo & Sons. n.d. Web. 17 April 2015.
“The German Way and More”. H. Flippo & Sons. n.d. Web. 17 April 2015.“
Wentzle, Hal. Personal Interview. 16 April 2015.
“Zuse, Konrad.” Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 18 April
2015. 18 April 2015.