Multiple choice

In early electronic computers, vacuum tubes were used as the storage media, later on they were replaced by small doughnut-shaped pieces of magnetic material called magnetic cores. Can you tell which of the following electronic stored-program computers was the first to use this core memory?

  1. IBM 701

  2. Whirlwind

  3. Burroughs F-101

  4. MANIAC

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Whirlwind computer (developed at MIT, operational in 1951) was the first electronic stored-program computer to use magnetic core memory. Core memory replaced vacuum tubes and Williams tubes, offering faster, more reliable storage. The IBM 701 used Williams tube memory initially.