The Z2 was an
electromechanical
Electromechanics combine processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focus on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems interact with each ...
(mechanical and relay-based)
digital computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as ''programs'', wh ...
that was completed by
Konrad Zuse
Konrad Ernst Otto Zuse (; ; 22 June 1910 – 18 December 1995) was a German civil engineer, List of pioneers in computer science, pioneering computer scientist, inventor and businessman. His greatest achievement was the world's first programm ...
in 1940.
It was an improvement on the
Z1 Zuse built in his parents' home, which used the same mechanical
memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...
. In the Z2, he replaced the arithmetic and control logic with 600 electrical
relay
A relay
Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts
An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off
A relay is an electrically operated switc ...
circuits, weighing over 600 pounds.
The Z2 could read 64
words
A word is a basic element of language that carries meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consensus among linguists on its ...
from punch cards. Photographs and plans for the Z2 were destroyed by the
Allied bombing during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
In contrast to the Z1, the Z2 used 16-bit
fixed-point arithmetic
In computing, fixed-point is a method of representing fractional (non-integer) numbers by storing a fixed number of digits of their fractional part. Dollar amounts, for example, are often stored with exactly two fractional digits, represen ...
instead of 22-bit
floating point
In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic on subsets of real numbers formed by a ''significand'' (a signed sequence of a fixed number of digits in some base) multiplied by an integer power of that base.
Numbers of this form ...
.
Zuse presented the Z2 in 1940 to members of the DVL
(today
DLR) and member , whose support helped fund the successor model
Z3.
Specifications
See also
*
Z4
References
Further reading
*
External links
Z2via
Horst Zuse (son) web page
Electro-mechanical computers
Z02
Mechanical computers
Computer-related introductions in 1940
Konrad Zuse
German inventions of the Nazi period
1940s computers
Computers designed in Germany
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