The story of ENIAC and its role in shaping early computer engineering
1. ENIAC (1945)The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) is broadly acknowledged as the inaugural large-scale, general-purpose electronic digital computer. Conceived at the University of Pennsylvania, ENIAC covered roughly 1,800 square feet and relied on nearly 18,000 vacuum tubes. Originally, it was engineered to compute artillery firing tables for the United States Army during World War II.ENIAC demonstrated that electronic components could dramatically outperform mechanical systems. It performed thousands of calculations per second, a revolutionary speed at the time. Though programming required manual rewiring and setting switches, ENIAC proved that fully electronic computing was viable and scalable, laying the foundation…