Parametron

The parametron is a logic circuit element invented by Eiichi Goto in 1954.[1][2] The parametron is essentially a resonant circuit with a nonlinear reactive element which oscillates at half the driving frequency.[2][3] The oscillation can be made to represent a binary digit by the choice between two stationary phases π radians (180 degrees) apart.[2][4]

Parametrons were used in early Japanese computers from 1954 through the early 1960s. A prototype parametron-based computer, the PC-1, was built at the University of Tokyo in 1958 and later recognized as part of the IEEE Milestone for the parametron.[5] Parametrons were used in early Japanese computers due to being reliable and inexpensive but were ultimately surpassed by transistors due to differences in speed.[6]

## See also

* Physics:Quantum flux parametron - Digital logic implementation technology based on superconducting Josephson junctions
* Biography:Eiichi Goto - Japanese computer scientist
* Engineering:Magnetic amplifier - Electromagnetic device
* Physics:Magnetic logic - Digital logic based on non-linear magnetic effects
* Physics:Parametric oscillator - Harmonic oscillator whose parameters oscillate in time

## References

1. ↑ Information Processing Society of Japan - Parametron
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Goto, Eiichi (August 1959). "The Parametron, a Digital Computing Element Which Utilizes Parametric Oscillation". Proceedings of the IRE 47 (8): 1304–1316. doi:10.1109/JRPROC.1959.287195.
3. ↑ "Parametron". The history of computing project 17 March 2010. http://www.thocp.net/hardware/parametron.htm.
4. ↑ U.S. Patent and Trademark Office - Class 307, Electrical Transmission or Interconnection Systems - Subclass 402, Parametrons
5. ↑ "Milestones: Parametron, 1954". IEEE. https://ethw.org/Milestones:Parametron,_1954.
6. ↑ Rojas, Rául; Hashagen, Ulf (2002). The First Computers: History and Architectures. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. pp. 429. ISBN 0-262-68137-4.

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