Jason Waterman
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Jason Waterman
@jawaterman.bsky.social
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Reposted by Jason Waterman
righto.com
This photo of magnetic core memory popped up, taken by Ansel Adams. I investigated a bit: this memory holds 4000 bits, each stored in a tiny magnetized ferrite ring. It may be from an IBM 705 vacuum-tube business computer. 1/N
A photo with the caption "'Hands weaving magnetic-core memory, IBM, Poughkeepsie, New York', 1956. Photograph by Ansel Adams. This photograph was made on a commercial assignment for IBM." This black-and-white photo shows a core memory plane being assembled. It consists of an 80 by 50 grid of wires in a frame with tiny toroids on the wire intersections. Each wire is attached to metal terminals on the frame. Someone is using tweezers to thread the tiny cores onto the wires. The plane is about 4/5 completed. One hand is below the plane, palm-up, visible through the wires. The other hand (with nail polish) is above the plane, holding tweezers.
May 30, 2025 at 5:38 PM