Amercian Mathematical Monthly

YEAR: 1953
ITEM: Periodical
COMPANY: Mathematical Association of America
COUNTRY: USA
IN OUR COLLECTION: Yes

The article on pp 237-242 is entitled, The NOTS REAC in The American Mathematical Monthly and is a description of the analog computing device at the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) in China Lake California: the Reeves Electronic Analog Computer (REAC).

The author mentions that the REAC at NOTS was put in to operation in October of 1951. He also points out that the digital computers that were being used at the time were much more accurate but "...the investigation of the variation of the parameters involved in a given problem is usually time-consuming and not too simple."

In the final paragraph, the author states that "there are about 300 REAC facilities in this country..." which gives us some idea of how popular the REAC was. He also points out that the REAC installation at NOTS had 14 integrators which meant it could "solve seven simultaneous second-order differential equations, not necessarily linear."

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