Marconi Myriad facts for kids

The Marconi Myriad was an early computer built by the Marconi Company in the 1960s. It was a powerful machine for its time, designed to handle complex tasks quickly. The Myriad was special because it used new technology called integrated circuits, which made it smaller and faster than many other computers back then.

What the Myriad Computer Was Like

The Myriad 1 computer was quite large, weighing about 1,200 pounds (540 kg) (around 544 kilograms), and it was built into a desk. It was a "24-bit" machine, which means it processed information in chunks of 24 bits at a time. This made it very efficient.

How it Worked

The Myriad used integrated circuits, which are tiny electronic parts that contain many transistors. These circuits helped the computer work very fast. Its main processing speed was around 800 nanoseconds, which is incredibly quick – a nanosecond is one billionth of a second!

How People Used It

People usually gave the Myriad instructions using paper tape. A special reader could read 1,000 characters per second from the tape. The computer could also print information very quickly.

What the Myriad Was Used For

The Myriad computer was used for many important jobs around the world.

Helping with Defense

• In the United Kingdom, it helped the Royal Radar Establishment and the Road Research Laboratory.
• In Sweden, it was part of the "Fur Hat" defense system and helped the Air Force with weather information for many years.
• It also helped control military air traffic in the UK for 15 years.
• In Australia, two Myriads worked together in the "HUBCAP" air-defense systems from 1967 to 1997. They helped process radar data and show information on screens for air traffic controllers.
• Marconi also delivered air defense systems using the Myriad to countries in Africa and the Far East.

Controlling Traffic and Telescopes

• The Myriad was used in a road traffic control system in Glasgow, Scotland.
• At the National Physics Laboratory in the UK, it helped with scientific research.
• In Cambridge, a Myriad computer helped operate the Ryle Telescope. It tracked eight large dishes across the sky and processed the data they collected in real time.

Designing New Technology

The Marconi semiconductor division used the Myriad extensively to design new integrated circuits. This showed how advanced the Myriad was, as it could help create the very technology it was built from.

Showing Off the Myriad

In 1964, a prototype of the Myriad was shown at a big computer exhibition in London. To impress people, they set up a model train set. Visitors could tell the computer the order they wanted the train cars to be in. The Myriad then figured out the best way to move the cars around the tracks to assemble the train correctly. This was a fun way to show how smart the computer was!

Myriad Production and Updates

Production of the Myriad computer started in 1965.

• The Myriad II was shown for the first time in 1966.
• The Myriad III was announced in 1970.

A Funny Story About the Myriad

In the late 1960s, a Myriad computer was being transported to a computer show in South Africa. Unfortunately, it fell out of the airplane! The computer's frame was badly bent. But, instead of giving up, people pushed it back into shape against a wall using a forklift truck. Amazingly, the Myriad still worked perfectly at the show!

See also

• GEC Computers
• AN/TPS-43
• Marconi Transistorised Automatic Computer (T.A.C.)