The manual for one of the oldest digital computers in the world was found

Since the 1960s, the Zuse Z4 has proudly stood at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. For those who don't know, this is one of the oldest digital computers in the world. Created in 1945 by Konrad Zuse, this machine is considered to be one of the most efficient of the time.

Still in working order today, the Zuse Z4 has served many causes. Designed on behalf of the Nazis, this computer was then used to perform calculations during the 1950s. Apart from that, it helped build the Grande-Dixence dam in Valais.

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Thanks to the discovery of archivist Evelyn Boesch, who works within of ETH Zurich, we know a little more about the functioning of this machine.

Discovering the Zuse Z4

It's in Digging through the archives of his father René Boesch, who was a former employee of Swiss Aeronautical Engineering, Evelyn Boesch found the Zuse Z4 manual. Learns from this document that Konrad Zuse had to hide his computer from the German authorities to prevent them from transferring it to a concentration camp.

This is only at the end of WWII Konrad Zuse pulled his creation out of its hiding place. The Zuse Z4 then began to solve a series of calculations. It was considered to be one of the first computers of its kind in Europe and many people coveted it.

A computer that has accomplished many missions

< p style = ""> The manual discovered in the archives of René Boesch reveals that the Zuse Z4 accomplished more than a hundred missions between 1950 and 1955.

According to this document, the Zuse Z4 was among the most powerful machines of the time. We learn from this manual that he was able to perform addition and subtraction in half a second. It could do a multiplication in 3 seconds and do a division or square roots in 6 seconds.

Unlike the computers we use today, the Zuse Z4 is very large and occupies an entire room.