INDUSTRY
Monsanto accountant-operator John O'Neil can follow progress of a problem being worked by the 702 by watching lights on the panel. To his left is a typewriter printer Avhich is used by the machine to type out preprogrammed messages. Keyboard at his right feeds coded instructions to the machine. Center, programmer Riley P. McGIothin tells the brain what t o do by preparing step-by-step programs mapping out procedures which the 702 must follow. These instructions are punched on cards like the °one at right and introduced into the machine. Information from the card (right) is read by 80 parallel reading brushes which make electrical contact through the punched holes. This information, a t the rate of 250 80-column cards a minute, is fed directly to the 702 or stored on magnetic tape (0.4 inches of tape per card) ry ESEARCH, D E V E L O P M E N T , AND P R O *^- DUCTION groups a t Monsanto are
Data Processor a t W o r k M o n s a n t o demonstrates first industrial use of I B M 7 0 2 for a c c o u n t i n g , scientific, a n d t e c h n o l o g i c a l p r o b l e m s Monsanto's IBM 702 at work. Left foreground are some of the 84 cathode-ray tubes which provide memory far 10,000 characters b y storing electrostatic charges. Tape units in background provide permanent memory for the machine b y storing information from punched cards on magnetic tape. Console is in the center, card reader at right
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casting covetous glances at a newtechnical "employee" of t h e company. Each group would like a chance to put the promising new employee to work on some of its own problems, a n d each thinks the bright newcomer can con^ tribute to its greater success. M7ithout doubt, all are correct. And in time, all will have their chance t o utilize the services of the versatile "addition to staff"—Monsanto's n e w type 702 International Business Machines Electronic Data Processing Machine. Delivered t o Monsanto's St. Louis headquarters on Feb. 25, the 702 has now been in operation on a "shake down" and operational basis for about five weeks. Monsanto's accounting department has had first call on the machine's time so far, and has already put it to work preparing t h e company's monthly financial statements a n d some 1200 separate monthly cost reports. Cost reports, of course, are of definite interest t o Monsanto's chemists and chemical engineers—particularly those in production departments—since such reports detail the cost of all elements involved in production of an individual product or group of products, and pro vide comparison against predetermined standards. But perhaps of" greater technical interest is t h e 702's potential for assisting in t h e solution of complex research, development, and production problems. According to Ν. Ν. Τ. Samaras, assistant general manager of Monsanto's research a n d engineering division, one of t h e electronic data processor's b i g advantages is that it permits the scien tist o r technologist t o set up a mathe matical model of a n actual physical system, and in many cases to determine the interrelationships of process vari-
CHEMICAL
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
At the fingertips of operators in the control room are complete facts on functioning of North American Aviation's water boiler reactor. ElectroniK instruments record power level and reactor temperatures.
California's first nuclear reactor controlled with ^(PrfflilfZi/C Designed and built b y the Nuclear Engi neering and Manufacturing Department of North American Aviation, the reactor shown here is the first to be operated in California. I t was built under contract with the A.E.C., and is being used as a neutron source for various development projects. A pool type or "water boiler" reactor, this relatively low-power source utilizes many of the techniques found in more complex highpower equipment. Measurement and con trol play an important role in reactor op eration . . . and for these responsibilities, North American selected ElectroniK instru ments. On the main control panel are two ElectroniK. power recorders with Linear scale, and a third power recorder with a log arithmic calibration. A fourth ElectroniK instrument charts critical temperatures to guide operators. •
instruments
On privately built reactors as well a s in government installations, ElectroniK in strumentation is the leading choice for pre cise, reliable measurement and control in nuclear research. The many versions of this versatile instrurnent . . . Function Plotter, Adjustable Span Recorder, Extended Range Recorder, J^-Second Pen Speed Recorder and others . . . afford numerous features of convenience and utility for the specialized requirements of research work. Your local Honeywell sales engineer will be glad to discuss the measurement problems of your specific project . . . and he's as near as your phone. MINNEAPOLIS-HONEYWELL
REGULATOR
Co., Industrial Division, Wayne and Windrim Avenues, Philadelphia 44, Pa.—in Canada, Toronto 17, Ontario.
REFERENCE DATA: Write for the folder "ElectroniK Instruments to Accelerate Research."
Η Honeywell B R O W N
I N S T R U Μ M Ε E N T S Ν Τ
•foot" ^ υ ( 3 ^ 4 · VOLUME
3 3,
NO.
17
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·
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APRIL
2 5,
1955
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INDUSTRY. processing unit a r e t h e input-output section, b a s e d o n magnetic t a p e , t h e memory section, where c a t h o d e tubes store information in t h e form of electro static charges, a n d t h e arithmetic a n d logical section, which performs calcula tions, a n d makes comparisons a n d decisions based o n instructions previ ously stored in t h e memory unit. All three sections a r e coordinated through t h e control console, through -which t h e operator supervises all functions of t h e system. T h e operator a t t h e console can introduce information a n d deter mine t h e exact step of t h e operation b y watching t h e lights on t h e console panel. As emphasized by E . J . Cunningham a n d Samaras, as well as b y C . C. H u r d , director of IBM's Electronic D a t a Proc essing Machines Division, programming is critically important in assuring maximum utihzation of the 702's great problem-solving potential. F o r each problem, a complete a n d definitive set of instructions must be developed a n d fed t o t h e machine if i t is t o process raw data in the desired manner. As an extreme example, it took Monsanto nine months to develop full program ming instructions for its cost sheet a c counting problem. Once developed, the program is fixed unless accounting
ables through computation rather than through tedious experimentation. Samaras told C&EN t h a t Monsanto h a s n o t yet chosen a n y specific technical problems to feed into t h e 702, b u t that m a n y engineering projects n o w under w a y m a y eventually b e solved i n part through t h e electronic data processor. Complex problems in multicomponent distillation, extraction, ion exchange, h e a t transfer, and fluid flow a r e ex amples of chemical processing braintwisters t h e 7 0 2 m a y tackle, h e said, while many engineering design prob lems may n o w be handled without t h e necessity for so m a n y "simplifying a s sumptions. " The Big Brain. Monsanto's I B M 7 0 2 (actually still t h e property of IBM, b u t leased to Monsanto on a $20,000 p e r month rental basis) makes a b i g roomful of equipment. There are 2 3 interconnected units, weighing 25,000 pounds in d i e aggregate, a n d utilizing over 5000 vacuum tubes. T h e 40 b y 6 0 foot special room housing t h e 7 0 2 is fully air conditioned, since t h e machine tends to "lose its memory" if either temperature or humidity gets o u t of line. Relative humidity must b e held in t h e range of 4 0 to 6 0 % with t e m p e r a t u r e a t 80° F . The three main sections of t h e data
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procedures a r e changed, and t h e machine carries out its instructions with lightning rapidity. I n t h e space of three minutes, t k e machine can prepare cost sheets matchiing a full day's output for a competent accountant. F e w accounting problems are as complicated as Monsanto's cost report project, and many programs might be developed i n a month or less. F o r t h e solution of technical problems, programming will naturally vary widely with t h e complexity of t h e problem under consideration. It is doubtless significant that Monsanto is "looking for a Ph.D. mathematician" to prepare problems for the 702, and keep it busy at maximum efficiency. This magnetic core assembly provides buffer storage between card reader and the 702 itself. Ioformation stored in this is 150 lines a minute, "This long carriage about 100 times t h e speed of card reader
T E R G I T O L Nonionics
NPX, •
Robert D . McCoy 3 director of accounting research, checks one o£ Monsanto's 702 line printers. Prumter has 120 print wheels with 47 characters each. Maximum speed is 150 lines a mirante. This long carriage printer prepares cost sfieets and reports
TMN, NP-14,
NP-27,
NP-359
and
NP-40
T E R G I T O L Anionics
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CHEMICAL
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