ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. It was the first general-purpose electronic digital computer built, and it was operational from 1945 to 1955. The development of ENIAC started during World War II at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, under the direction of John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert.
ENIAC was a massive machine, covering approximately 1,800 square feet of floor space. It utilized over 17,000 vacuum tubes and employed punch cards and plugboards for input and output. ENIAC was capable of performing complex calculations with incredible speed and precision, far surpassing the capabilities of previous electromechanical calculators.
This groundbreaking computer was originally designed to assist in the trajectory calculations for artillery shells, but its modular design and flexible nature allowed it to be used for a variety of computations, such as atomic energy calculations, weather prediction, and solving mathematical equations.
ENIAC marked a significant shift in computing technology, as it demonstrated the potential of electronic computers to revolutionize various industries. Its design and capabilities directly influenced subsequent computer developments, paving the way for the modern computer era.
Despite its revolutionary contributions, ENIAC was not programmable in the modern sense and required extensive rewiring to perform different calculations. However, it laid the foundation for the development of stored-program computers, which emerged shortly after ENIAC's era.
