Florida Automatic Computer facts for kids
FLAC, which stood for the Florida Automatic Computer, was an early electronic computer. It was built for the United States Air Force at Patrick Air Force Base (PAFB) in Brevard County, Florida. FLAC's main job was to process data from missile tests. It started working in 1953.
This computer was designed like many others from its time, using a setup called the von Neumann architecture. It was very similar to another computer called SEAC. The company RCA's Data Reduction Group operated FLAC. Eventually, three FLAC computers were built. Two of them were upgraded to "FLAC II" systems in late 1956. FLAC helped with flight tests for early missiles like the Redstone, Juno, Snark, Matador, Bomarc, Navaho, Atlas, and Thor.
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History of FLAC
Work on designing FLAC began in December 1950 at Patrick Air Force Base's Atlantic Missile Range. A team of seven engineers and specialists from the Air Force worked together to create it.
Who Built FLAC?
The main people who designed and built FLAC were:
- Thomas G. Holmes
- Charlie West
- John MacNeill
- Jim Bellinger
- Steve Batchelor
- Bruce Smith
- Harlan Manweiler
Thomas G. Holmes was in charge of the computer's overall design. He made sure all the parts worked together correctly. Charlie West was the project director. John MacNeill and Jim Bellinger were mechanical engineers. They designed the physical parts of the system. Jim Bellinger also designed the input and output system. He created a punch system that was much faster than older ones. It could process over 400 characters per second, compared to about 10 characters per second for older systems. Jim also made a reader for the paper tape input. Steve Batchelor handled buying parts and manufacturing. Bruce Smith designed the building blocks for the computer. Harlan Manweiler managed the finances.
How FLAC Worked
Like other early computers such as ENIAC and EDVAC, FLAC used vacuum tubes as its basic electronic parts. It also used crystal diodes for controlling signals.
FLAC's Components
The complete FLAC system had 1,050 vacuum tubes of five different types. It also used 18,000 crystal diodes. The main computer itself used 420 vacuum tubes and 15,000 diodes. FLAC's electronic parts were built into seven different types of plug-in units. These units could be easily put into or taken out of six cabinets. This design made it quick to replace broken parts, like a burned-out vacuum tube, and get the machine working again.
Size and Power
FLAC used 7.5 kilowatts of power to run. It needed another 7.5 kilowatts for the air conditioning system to keep it cool. The computer took up about 455 cubic feet of space over 65 square feet. The air conditioning system needed an additional 52 cubic feet over 18 square feet. The whole system weighed 1,000 pounds. The basic FLAC system cost the Air Force about $500,000.
Processing Information
FLAC used a fixed-point binary system. This means it used only zeros and ones to represent numbers. Each "word" (a piece of data) had 45 binary digits. Forty-four of these were for the number itself, and one was for the sign (positive or negative). Instruction words, which told the computer what to do, were the same length as data words. The computer had 19 different instructions it could follow. It could also automatically change numbers from decimal (our normal counting system) to binary and back again. This happened very fast, at 500 words per second. The computer's internal clock ran at 1 million cycles per second (1 MHz). Adding numbers took about 850 microseconds (a microsecond is one-millionth of a second). Multiplying and dividing took longer, about 3,300 microseconds.
Memory and Data Input/Output
FLAC used two types of memory:
- A 512-word mercury delay line
- Magnetic tape
For getting data into the system, FLAC could read:
- Flexowriter paper tape (1 word per second)
- Magnetic wire (40 words per second)
- Raytheon magnetic tape (250 words per second)
- Paper tape (150 characters per second)
For getting results out, FLAC could send data to:
- Flexowriter paper tape (1 word per second)
- Magnetic wire (20 words per second)
- Paper tape (180 characters per second)
What FLAC Was Used For
All programs for FLAC were written in "machine language." This is the computer's most basic language, using only numbers. FLAC did not have any higher-level programming languages, like Python or Java, that we use today. It also didn't have special programs called assemblers or compilers to help write code.
Missile Data Processing
FLAC's main job was to process data from missile tests. This data was recorded on rolls of seven-hole punched paper tape, magnetic wire cartridges, and magnetic tape reels. FLAC would transform this raw data into useful information about the missile's path and how well it performed.
During its time in service, FLAC was usually operated by an engineer or technician and one operator. They worked two 8-hour shifts. The computer was working about 90% of the time, which was very good for a machine of its era. FLAC also had features like automatically removing extra zeros and controlling how printed results looked.
FLAC I and FLAC II
The first FLAC computer (FLAC I) was located in a three-story wooden building at Patrick Air Force Base. The two upgraded FLAC II systems were built in the Tech Lab's South Wing in 1956. FLAC II was an improvement because it no longer used the slower mercury delay-line memory. Instead, it used a faster and more flexible 4,096-word magnetic core memory.
The FLAC machines stopped being used in 1960. They were replaced by newer, more powerful computers called IBM 709 scientific computers.
Some of the Air Force people who helped build FLAC, including Thomas G. Holmes, Charlie West, John MacNeill, Jim Bellinger, Steve Batchelor, and Harlan Manweiler, later started their own company called Soroban Engineering, Inc. in Melbourne, Florida.
