1. EDVAC
Image taken originally from The Image Server (
Javier Vega
2006

2. Index EDVAC Basics Creation The Creator The Designers EDVAC Functions
EDVAC Building Components
SIZE!
EDVAC and ENIAC
EDVAC Specifications
EDVAC Timeline
Von Neumann with the EDVAC
Mauchly and Eckert
Cost
Works Cited

3. EDVAC Basics
EDVAC stands for Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer
Binary System, not decimal like ENIAC
Designed by Eckert and Mauchly, who were later joined by John Von Neumann

4. Creation The EDVAC was created by the University of Pennsylvania
Built for the U.S. Army’s Ballistics research laboratory
Design based on Von Neumannn’s 1945 report

5. The Creator John Von Neumann is recognized as the creator of EDVAC
Born in Budapest in 1903
Wrote the first draft of the EDVAC in 1945

6. The Designers
John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert designed EDVAC basing it in the first draft of John Von Neumann
Designed not only EDVAC but also ENIAC.
Published EDVAC in 1947

7. EDVAC Functions
Binary with automatic addition, subtraction, multiplication, programmed division
Also automatic checking with a capacity of 1000 words

8. EDVAC Building Components
Magnetic tape-reader-recorder
Control unit with oscilloscope
Dispatcher unit to receive instructions from the control and memory and direct them to other units
Computational unit to perform arithmetic operations on a pair of numbers at a time and send the result to memory after checking on a duplicate unit
Timer
dual memory unit consisting of two sets of 64 mercury acoustic delay lines of eight words capacity on each line and also three temporary tanks each holding a single word

9. SIZE! 6,000 vacuum tubes 12,000 diodes Consumed 56kW of power
Covered 45.5 m² of floor
Weighed 7,850 kg.

10. EDVAC and ENIAC Main difference between ENIAC and EDVAC is this:
EDVAC stores programs so that instructions did not have to be input repeatedly
ENIAC did not store programs
EDVAC is a continuation of ENIAC

11. EDVAC Specifications Programming and Numerical System
Internal Number System
Binary
Binary Digits per Word 44
Binary Digits per Instruction
4 bits/command
Instruction per word 1
Instructions Decoded 16
Instrtuctions used 12
Arithmetic System
Floating and Fixed Point
Instruction type
Four-address code

12. EDVAC Timeline --------- 1944 1945 1946 1947 1952
1952, Completion of the EDVAC.
1945, John Von Neumann finishes the first draft of the EDVAC, it demonstrates the potential of the EDVAC.
April, 1946, Contract signed, the new device is called EDVAC, 100,000 dollars of budget.
1944
1945
1946
1947
1952
November, John Von Neumann joins Mauchly and Eckert on the creation of the EDVAC.
1946, EDVAC was ready to be used but because of delays of the ending war, and the departure of workers to do civilian work.

13. Von Neumann with the EDVAC
John Von Neumann with the EDVAC

14. Mauchly and Eckert EDVAC designers, John Mauchly and Presper Eckert

15. Cost The EDVAC’s budget was about 100,000 dollars
The cost at the end was of about 500,000 dollars

16. Works Cited
EDVAC. October , The History of Computing Project. 2 Oct
Lee, J.A.N. John Louis von Neumann Oct
EDVAC. Biocrawler Online Encyclopedia. 6 Oct
The first stored program for a computer. American Philosophical Society (APS). 8 Oct
The First Electronic Computers. World Book Online. 10 Oct