Digital Technology Origins

[Dino Soar]

Digital technology was invented by Bell Labs in 1941. It was highly classified until AT&T sued the government about 1970, to declassify it for commercial use in telecommunications. Look up "SIG SALY" and "Don Mehl" for the story. It was and is the basis for all digital communications in use in the world today. I think you will be amazed by that system and its processes. After reading about that, you will know what a true genius really is, referring to the Bell Labs scientists. It was even vetted as 100% unbreakable by Alan Turing, see "The Imitation Game" movie about that brilliant genius and the (first digital computer) called ULTRA. Interesting points, his machine appears to have been built with a current at that time, form of step-by-step telephone exchange switching relays. Problem was it could not cycle through the gazillion Enigma combinations required, in a 24 hour period before the Germans changed the Enigma settings every midnight. That's why in the movie, until near the end "when the lights came on in the bar", that his machine just kept clicking along all day long. The follow on, built with the then new "electronic valves" (diode vacuum tubes) was much faster, consumed enormous amounts of power, as did SIG SALY, and was named COLOSSUS, WAS able to get through them.

This may be informative, or at least worth a few laughs for you youngsters at how some things were "back-in-my-day" about 1988, when I still had hair. I wired up all of the equipment you see in this murky video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKFSDeK9BMs

[BobByte]

Nice! That's a great throwback video, Dino Soar! Thanks for sharing!

[carv]

I'm reading the The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation right now, by John Gertner. The book is very interesting.

[Seed]

The video is really very good. My thanks!