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Manchester Baby First Run

Manchester Baby First Run

The Manchester Baby, the world's first stored-program computer, is about to execute its first successful program. The team of researchers, led by Frederic C. Williams and Tom Kilburn, watches intently

Setting

A small, cluttered laboratory in the University of Manchester's Electrical Engineering Department. The room is filled with workbenches, technical equipment, and chalkboards covered in equations and diagrams.

Characters

The figures in this scene as an entity network — co-presence links everyone in the moment; speakers who trade lines are bound tighter. Turn the resolution dial to reveal depth the engine actually computed.

TNGF
SELECTED
Frederic C. Williams
primary
A lean, middle-aged man of average height with sharp features, a high forehead, and thinning brown hair combed back. His wire-rimmed glasses reflect the laboratory lights as he works. His hands show the calluses of an engineer who works directly with equipment.
Tom Kilburn
primary
A lean man in his late twenties with sharp features, dark hair neatly combed back, and wire-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. His hands are stained with ink from hours of programming work, and there's a faint smudge of machine oil on his cheek.
Geoff Tootill
secondary
A lean man in his mid-20s with short, sandy hair kept neatly combed. His wire-framed glasses sit slightly askew on his nose, and his face bears the faint remnants of acne scars. His hands are calloused from frequent work with delicate electronics.
Lab Assistant
background
A young man in his early 20s, slight of build with neatly combed brown hair and wire-rimmed glasses. His face bears the focused intensity of someone deeply absorbed in technical work.

Dialog

Frederic C. Williams The store appears stable, Tom. The spots aren't fading—you see, we've managed to hold the charge this time.
Tom Kilburn Right. Now if the control interprets the program correctly... it should be executing the highest proper factor.
Frederic C. Williams There! You see the deflection pattern? Just like radar echoes during the war—but this time we're storing numbers, not aircraft.
Tom Kilburn The store's holding. That's 32 bits retained for... 2 minutes now. Far longer than we'd dared hope.
Frederic C. Williams Let's run the full multiplication test. If this works, we'll have proven random-access storage is feasible, not just theoretically possible.
Tom Kilburn Stand by... the Baby's cycling through the program. The display should show 262,144 if it's processed correctly.
Frederic C. Williams By Jove... there it is! The first stored-program computer actually working. Not just an idea in a paper, but right there on the screen.

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Causal neighbors · 209 linked moments

F
First Execution of the Manchester Baby (SSEM)
1948 · contemporaneous
A
Alan Turing publishes 'Computing Machinery and Intelligence'
1950 · same location
F
First Execution of the Manchester Baby (SSEM)
1948 · same figure
I
Invention of the Point-Contact Transistor
1947 · same figure
F
First Program Run on the Manchester Mark 1
1949 · same figure
I
Invention of the Junction Transistor
1948 · same figure
I
Invention of the Integrated Circuit
1958 · same figure
R
Release of GPT-1
2018 · same figure
M
Manchester Baby First Run
1948 · same era
I
Invention of the Point-Contact Transistor
1947 · same figure
M
Manchester Mark 1 First Program
1949 · same era
M
Manchester Mark 1 First Program
1949 · follows
M
Manchester Mark 1 First Program
1949 · same location
G
Google.com domain registered
1997 · same figure
M
Manchester Baby runs first stored-program program
1948 · contemporaneous
M
Manchester Baby runs first stored-program program
1948 · same figure
E
EDSAC becomes operational at the University of Cambridge
1949 · same era
E
EDSAC becomes operational at the University of Cambridge
1949 · follows
E
EDSAC First Operation
1949 · same era
E
EDSAC First Operation
1949 · follows
I
Invention of the Transistor
1947 · same figure
M
Manchester Mark 1 First Run
1949 · same era
M
Manchester Mark 1 First Run
1949 · follows
M
Manchester Mark 1 First Run
1949 · same figure
M
Manchester Mark 1 First Program Run
1949 · same era
M
Manchester Mark 1 First Program Run
1949 · follows
A
ACE Pilot Model First Program Run
1950 · same era
A
ACE Pilot Model First Program Run
1950 · follows
I
Invention of the Transistor
1947 · same figure
F
First Run of the Manchester Baby
1948 · contemporaneous
F
First Run of the Manchester Baby
1948 · same location
F
First Run of the Manchester Baby
1948 · same figure
C
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
1953 · same era
C
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
1953 · follows
C
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
1953 · same era
C
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
1953 · follows