On Sunday, 16 June 2024 20:39:52 BST Wol wrote: > ... Back in the ancient days, you had a switch panel you toggled to put in > the boot code.
I remember that. It was 1974. 24 key switches and lots of buttons. You set an address on the key switches and hit SET, then ditto its contents and STORE. All set and ready, GO. That was a Ferranti Argus 500, like what was in the latest submarines, but these were for AGR power stations. 24-bit words, 16MB of 2 microsecond core store, 2MB disks, ASTRAL assembler language. Full closed-loop reactor control. They don't make them like that any more. PS. Our gas-cooled reactors were intrinsically stable: rising temperature caused reduction of power, without any intervention. On the other hand, all water-cooled reactors are inherently unstable: rising temperature causes an increase of power. They have to be controlled by brute force. PPS. Guess which I prefer. -- Regards, Peter.
