9:58 AM
Jam Jacobs
Whirlwind, under the direction of engineer Jay Forrester, actually began in 1944 as an analog computer for use in a flight simulator, funded by the Navy. News about the ENIAC and EDVAC digital computer projects led Forrester to abandon the analog approach in early 1946.But the original application goal of a flight simulator remained.In theory flight simulators were, and remain, what is known as a “dual-use” technology, equally useful for training military and civilian pilots.It is important to emphasize that at this historical juncture these were not obvious goals for a digital computer. Analog computers and control mechanisms(servomechanisms) were well-developed, with sophisticated theoretical underpinnings. (Indeed, Forrester began his work at MIT as a graduate student in Gordon Brown’s Servomechanisms Laboratory.) Analog controllers did not require the then-complex additional step of converting sensor readings into numerical form and control instructions into waveforms or other analog signals (Valley 1985). Mechanical or electro-mechanical devices were inherently slower than electronic ones, but there was no inherent reason why electronic computers or controllers should be digital, since many electronic components have analog properties. Numerous electronic analog computers were built duringand after the war. Most other projects saw electronic digital computers as essentially giant calculators, primarily useful for scientific computation. Their size, their expense, and this vision of their function led many to believe that once perfected only a few — perhaps only a couple — of digital computers would ever be needed. Even Forrester at one time apparently thought that the entire country would eventually be served by a single gigantic computer.In the contemporary context , the alarm warning systems for missile poses a lot of risks for the world . the greatest risk is when the system gives false alarm and thus may lead to more misunderstanding and war . In 1983 ,Lt. Colenel Stanislav Petrov was the officer incharge of the warning system monitoring station outside Moscow for Soviet Union . One fine warning he got signals indicating 5 ballistic missiles have been launched by US .The tensions between the states was already present and this false alarm could have resulted in a war .Petrov thought that had America launched a nuclear attack against Russia ,missiles would have been raining down not just 5 thus considered that it is a false signal ,thus saving the world of another devastating war .The Whirlwind computers developed during cold war is a classic example o risk involved in any systems The duplex computer enables us to keep the data safe even if one of the computers gets damaged or destroyed the other can take over . this kind of computer systems is used in banks all across the globe .
Therefore we can say that technology is directly proportional to the risk.
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R.SURENDER NAIK
CH09B071
