Evening star., 1951-05-18
New Mechanical Brains
ToCut Out Paper Work
Notable Progress Reported
In 'EIectronic Computers'
By Thomos R. Henry

New mechanical brains are on the
way toward eliminating all the vast
mass of paper work" in American In
dustry and Government.
They are being described as second
only to atomic energy, and necessary
partner with it, in a new industrial
age which is near it's dawn.
Such is the prediction OF DR.. S. N.
Alexander, chief of the Electronic Com
puter Section of the United States Bu-
reau of Standards, under whose direc-
ton some of the most notable progress
has been made.
The new machines are known
as "electronic digital computers.' They
still are in their infancy DR.. Alexander
says. although one type developed by
bureau workers performs with absolute
accuracy more than 5000 additions or
subtractions in q second. Still this is
considered crude compared with the
clear possibilities.
Files With Playback Devices.
Completely automatic files, for ex-
ample, were predicted before the In
dustrial Research Institute.
Such a system he said. would en-
ploy magnetic recording on automatic
playback devices which would be the
equivalent of present-day filing cabinets
filled with papers. Telegraphic COM
munication could be established between
the file and the users. People dealing
with the files could then merely dial
the file for information in much the way
we use the telephone to find out the
time or the weather,
This system would have many ad-
vantageS. Less space would be required
for filing documents. Reference to ths
file can be automatic. since nobody has
to 60 to a file physically and pull papers
or microfllm Reference to the file does
not remove the original data from safe
storage place. With the use Of metallic
recording tape records will be more
durable and will resist water and fire
damage better than paper or Aim. Be
cause files can be remote from users and
connected to the main Office by tele-
graph they can be put in bomb-proof
underground vaults and made safe from
atomic attacks even when they are
being used and kept current.
For security reasons, to protect mill
tary or corporate information. electrorllcs
files can be scrambled so that they will
give up intelligible information only to
authorized people who have the proper
code word. This code word could be
changed every day and the machine
would do the necessary unscrambling.
Ultimate Result Ahead.
This in itself. it was pointed out, would
do away with the need for the very large
body of low-paid white-collar workers.
But before the automatic file is success.
DR.. Alexander said, new devices are
needed and new development programs
necessary. but the ultimate result seems
clearly ahead.
'I believe" the scientist said. that if
sufficient effort is expended to develop
new auxiliary equipment for use in con-
junction with the electronic computers,
we can look forward confidently to an
era in which production techniques
will be applied to routine processing OF
paper work just as mass-production
techniqueS now are used In the manu-
facture of material things"
Although theory was well advanced
before the war, he pointed out, the spark
which kindled the present work was the
development OF ENIAC, the first success
full electronic computer at the University
Of Pennsylvania during the war itself.
It was intended for the calculation OF
ballistics data for artillery. an enormous
ly complicated job which required small
army of computers. The machine proved
itself able to do this job in fraction Of
the time required for human workers
with any of the existing calculating ma
chimes.
It was, however. extremely bulky and
complicated. 1t required, for example.
$4,000 vacuum tubes, and when one Of
these went wrong the machine was in
trouble. Work has progressed ever since
on making the machine simpler and
lighter. There have been four notable ad-
vances. First are two new electronic
computers developed at the Bureau Of
Standards and in England. These now
are in use. Further advances have been
made at Massachusetts, Institute of Tech
nology and by the Remington Rand
Corp. These two machines, however. are
only in intermittent use.