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Essay on the topic: The World's First Computer

The very first general-purpose electronic computer, ENIAC, was created in the United States and officially unveiled on February 15, 1946. Its developers were physicist John Presper Eckert and engineer John William Mauchly of the University of Pennsylvania.

Its physical dimensions are staggering: a system of 40 panels, each 3 meters high, occupied a 167-square-meter room and weighed 27 tons. This giant operated using 18,800 vacuum tubes, which generated enormous amounts of heat and required a powerful cooling system. Visually, it was a monumental labyrinth of metal cabinets, entangled with thousands of wires.

A key feature, crucial for understanding its evolution, was its programming method. It had no keyboard or monitor. To assign a new task, operators—often female computer operators—physically rewired cables on giant patch panels and set switches. This could take days, although the calculation itself took minutes. He performed complex calculations thousands of times faster than humans, solving problems that previously seemed impossible.

Despite its colossal size and operational complexity, ENIAC revolutionized the world by demonstrating the feasibility of performing thousands of calculations per second. This project laid the foundation for the entire modern computer industry, paving the way for humanity into the digital age.