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World War II Technology World War II is really the beginning of the modern computing era. Claude Shannon, an engineer and mathematician for Bell Labs, had published his master's thesis in 1938. This paper formulated the mathematical theory for programming the behavior of all switched circuits. Of course, a box of switched circuits is all a computer really is. Shannon coined the term "bit", which is short for "binary digit", and applied Boolean algebra to the behavior of switches. Shannon's work was the basis of ENIAC, a huge computer built for the Army in 1942. ENIAC calculated the trajectories of artillery shells. It was not completed until after the war was over, but its speed at making calculations ensured its use throughout the Cold War. Claude Shannon, the father of Information Theory, publishes thesis in 1938. John Mauchley, engineer at University of Pennsylvania, suggested using vacuum tubes to instead of relays. This was a critical step toward ENIAC, 1942. Lieutenant Herman Goldstine, the Army liason for the ENIAC project, 1942. 1933: Hitler is elected Chancellor of Germany 1941: US enters WWII 1945: WWII ends and the Cold War begins http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dt45en.html Army picture of ENIAC. No permission yet. http://baby.indstate.edu/gga/gga_cart/gecar127.htm Map of the Axis powers in 1942 No permission yet. http://www.openstore.com/posters/manguns.jpg Navy recruiting poster. No permission yet. http://gi.grolier.com/wwii/photos/USWW0034.JPEG Portrait of a marine. No permission yet. http://gi.grolier.com/wwii/photos/USWW0040.JPEG Mushroom cloud from atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. No permission yet. Robert Barham