From chemistry-request@server.ccl.net Mon Feb 28 11:11:13 2000 Received: from postoffice.npac.syr.edu (postoffice.npac.syr.edu [128.230.7.230]) by server.ccl.net (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id LAA18019 for ; Mon, 28 Feb 2000 11:11:13 -0500 Received: from snake.npac.syr.edu (snake.npac.syr.edu [128.230.162.60]) by postoffice.npac.syr.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA22282; Mon, 28 Feb 2000 11:10:57 -0500 (EST) Received: from npac.syr.edu (bernhold@localhost) by snake.npac.syr.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA98588; Mon, 28 Feb 2000 11:10:57 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <200002281610.LAA98588@snake.npac.syr.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: snake.npac.syr.edu: bernhold owned process doing -bs Reply-to: bernhold@npac.syr.edu To: CHEMISTRY@ccl.net cc: bernhold@npac.syr.edu Subject: Re: CCL:The "birth-year" of computational chemistry? In-reply-to: Message from "Rzepa, Henry" of "Mon, 28 Feb 2000 14:15:42 GMT." MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-ID: <98409.951754256.1@npac.syr.edu> Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 11:10:56 -0500 From: "David E. Bernholdt" I don't want to enter this fray except to say that one must be careful to distinguish betweeen (a) analog and digital computers, and (b) purpose-specific and general programmable computers. Many early computers were hardwired for specific tasks. I think you're free to argue as much about the definition of the earliest computer as you are about what constituted computational chemistry :-) Incidentally, I know that Iowa State U claims that that the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (built 1937-1942) was the first _digital_ computer, predating ENIAC. (http://www.scl.ameslab.gov/ABC/ABC.html) -- David E. Bernholdt | Email: bernhold@npac.syr.edu Northeast Parallel Architectures Center | Phone: +1 315 443 3857 111 College Place, Syracuse University | Fax: +1 315 443 1973 Syracuse, NY 13244-4100 | URL: http://www.npac.syr.edu