Object Details
Manufacturer
Cray Research, Inc.
Summary
This is a CRAY-1, an early example of a class of computers called "supercomputers." It was built by Cray Research, Inc. of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and installed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. Unlike most computers, it was hand-wired, and its circuits were arranged in a three-quarters circle. Both helped increase the speeds at which signals travel from one part of the computer to another. Hefty power supplies are located below each of the circuit bays, and the padding on them suggests a piece of lounge furniture.
At NCAR, the machine was used between 1977 and 1983, where it performed complex calculations involving the numerical modeling of weather phenomena. As the speeds of ordinary workstations increased over the years, it became obsolete and was donated to the Smithsonian.
Credit Line
Gift of Cray Research, Inc.
Inventory Number
A19880565012
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
INSTRUMENTS-Computers, General Purpose
Materials
Non-Magnetic Metal
Uncharacterized Foam
Ferrous Alloy
Paint
Adhesive
Ink
Adhesive Tape
Dimensions
3-D: 16.5 × 6.7 × 5.1cm (6 1/2 × 2 5/8 × 2 in.)
3-D: 16.5 × 7 × 5.1cm (6 1/2 × 2 3/4 × 2 in.)
3-D: 45.1 × 11.4 × 1.3cm (1 ft. 5 3/4 in. × 4 1/2 in. × 1/2 in.)
3-D: 45.1 × 12.4 × 1.3cm (1 ft. 5 3/4 in. × 4 7/8 in. × 1/2 in.)
3-D: 45.1 × 10.8 × 1.5cm (1 ft. 5 3/4 in. × 4 1/4 in. × 5/8 in.)
3-D: 45.1 × 12.4 × 1cm (1 ft. 5 3/4 in. × 4 7/8 in. × 3/8 in.)
3-D: 44.8 × 12.4 × 1cm (1 ft. 5 5/8 in. × 4 7/8 in. × 3/8 in.)
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nasm_A19880565012