Whirlwind’s Core Memory
Today in 1951, MIT’s Whirlwind computer first came online. It was the first computer that operated in real time and used video displays (cathode-ray tubes) for output. In the 1950s, Whirlwind became the prototype for a series of computers that enabled the air force to build a sophisticated air defense system, the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment or SAGE.
The MIT150 website has a great video from the early 1950 describing the Whirlwind and its applications and another one from the appearance on December 16, 1951, of the Whirlwind and Jay Forrester on Edward Murrow’s “See It Now” television show.
The Story of Information 