Konrad Zuse The Computer- My Life
Konrad Zuse The Computer- My Life
With Forewords byEL.Bauer and H. Zemanek
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH Professor Dr. Ing. E. h. Dr. mult. rer. nat. h.c. Konrad Zuse 1m Haselgrund 21, D-36088 Hunfeld, Germany Editor: Dr. Hans Wossner, Springer-Verlag Heidelberg Translators: Patricia McKenna, New York J.Andrew Ross, Springer-Verlag Heidelberg
Titl e of the original German edition: Der Computer - Mein Lebenswerk, 1993 © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1984, 1986, 1990, 1993
Computing Reviews Classification (1991) : K. 2, A. 0 With 68 Figures
ISBN 978-3-642-08 151 -4 ISBN 978-3-662-02931-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-02931-2
Libary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data . Zuse, Konr ad . (Computer. mein Lebensw erk . English) Th e computer, my life / Konrad Zuse;with for eword s bv F.L. Bauer and H. Zemanek. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. I. Zuse, Konrad. 2. Computers -Germany - History . 3. Computer engineers - Germany - Biography. I. Titl e. TK7885.22.Z87A3 1993 62I.39'092-dc20 [B] 93-18574
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved , whether the whole world or part for the mat erial is concerned , specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse ofillustrati- ons, recitation, broadcasting , reproduction on microfilm or in any ot her way, and storage in data banks. Dupli cation of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the pro- visions of German Copyr ight Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version , and permissi- on for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecuti- on under the German Copyright Law. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1993 Originally publ ished by Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg in 1993. Softcover reprint of the hardco ver Ist edition 1993 Th e use of general descriptive names, regist ered names, trad emarks etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regul ations and therefore free for general use. Cover design : Struve & Partn er, Heidelberg, Germany Type setting: Macm illan. India Production Editor:P. Treiber 45/3140 - 5 4 3 2 1 0 - Printed on acid-fre e paper FOREWORD by F.L. Bauer, Munich
To summarize the work ofa great man in a few words becomes necessary when these words are to be chiseled in stone. In a preface to the autobi- ography of such a man it is appropriate to exercise brevity, thereby honoring the author that much more. For Konrad Zuse these words hold: Creator of the first fully automated, program-controlled and freely programmable computer using binary floating-point calculation. It was operational in 1941. This, or something similar, is what will one day have to be written when Konrad Zuse's bust is unveiled in the Temple ofValhalla near those of Gregor Mendel and Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, to name just two upon whom this honor was last bestowed.
v FOREWORD
by H. Zemanek, Vienna
No matter how lengthy and thorough an autobiography may be, it can never be complete. Therefore, I am pleased to be given the opportunity in this foreword to present an example of how far-reaching the work of the author is. It is a small example, one ofmaybe dozens ofa similar kind, but a personal one, which may serve as a sign ofmy gratitude for the ideas and support that led to a lasting friendship, but also as a symbolic note of thanks from all those others who may have received help and guidance from Konrad Zuse. In the early years of computer development, meetings and the open exchange ofideas were among the most important engines ofprogress. We showed others what we had, and vice versa. The formality with which one received and defended patents came to the fore only later, ifat all. When we began the Mailiifterl or "Little May Breeze", in Vienna (see Elektroni- sche Rechenanlagen 25, No.6, 1983), we were in contact not only with German university projects in Munich, Darmstadt, Gottingen and Dresden, but also with Konrad Zuse and his company. All of these contacts were important and fruitful, but my ties with Zuse went far beyond the ordinary. Zuse sponsored a colleague from the Mailiifterl with the understanding that upon completion ofhis dissertation, my colleague would join the company, which he did. Dr. R. Bodo was quite successful with ZUSE KG, and later he continued his career with Siemens. We also collaborated on storage technology: we won a development contract from ZUSE KG and, once again, a Viennese colleague, along with his experi- ence, went to Bad Hersfeld. By the way, ZUSE KG was the sole paying client of the Mailufterl team; the company paid for the use of our core memory patent (Dr. Kurt Bandat ). Who could count the number ofdiscussions we had with Konrad Zuse and his colleagues? Fromme's ideas, for instance, were also basic to the Mailiifterl architecture; he visited Vienna several times. I attended numer- ous conferences with Konrad Zuse - the Darmstadt conference of 1955, the Madrid conference of 1958, the Paris International Conference on In- formation Processing (I CIP ) in 1959, and the International Federation of Information Processing (IF IP) Conference in 1962. It would be impossible
VII to list all su bseq ue nt meetings. H ow ever, it should be mentioned tha t in 1972 K onrad Zuse presented a paper during th e Pioniertag of th e IFIP Council in Vi enna. And now one must im agine how great has been th e number ofall such contac ts with Zuse, with his - of course, predominantly younge r - colleague s in th e field , and , th erefore, what influen ce he has had on th e development of th e com puter in Central Europe. This can not be gleane d from his memoirs - it is a page of history for others to write. H ow ever, thi s makes it that much more important to have, and to study, thi s book. It rep orts with remarkable candor th e mistakes th at th e au tho r made in his life (or th inks he made). The circumstances may va ry, but th e sa me mistakes will be rep eated in th eir en tire ty by th ose younger. Those who wish to avoid th em will have to read Konrad Zuse's memoirs a seco nd time. T o me this seems rare praise indeed .
VIII PREFACE
This book tells the history ofthe computer from the standpoint ofsomeone who, now more than fifty years ago, built the first computer. At the same time, it was intended to answer the question often posed to me: "How did you actually come to invent the computer?" It also tells my life's story, the story of the inventor Konrad Zuse. Such stories about inventors, or those they tell themselves, have occasionally inclined toward fantasy. The public, it appears, treasures the unsung inventor and divine inspiration above all else. I admit right now that I have very little use for either. Certainly, inspiration has played a part in my life, too, but there was nothing miraculous about this in itself. All in all, my success was the result of hard work. For myself, the saying of the great inventor Edison holds, namely, genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspi- ration, i.e., work. This is what I want to write about. Almost as often as the previous question, I am asked about the motives behind my inventions, my interest, yes, my passion for techno- logy. I often sense overtones ofan unspoken reproach ofnaivete.I want to address this point now. We pioneers ofcomputer development did indeed believe in technology. Among us a great optimism, not to say euphoria, was the rule when it came to the blessings of technological progress. You can call this naivete, but bear in mind that this attitude was looked upon with growing skepticism only after the war, and then only gradually. The watershed was probably the explosion of the first atomic bomb. From this point on, more than ever before, the researchers and inventors were expected to be aware of their responsibility to society and of the possible repercussions that would accompany their inventions. The inventor, it is demanded, should first make his discoveries known to the public, and then obtain permission to carryon. It remains to be seen how future generations will come to terms with such demands.I have no wish to conceal my doubts on the subject. Painful experience has taught me that only very rarely do new ideas even find an interested audience. In the 1930s I dared tell only my closest friends and colleagues that I believed it was possible that a computer could defeat chess grandmasters. Outsiders would have called me a dreamer. Even if! had been aware ofit, how was
IX I supposed to bring the drawbacks ofsuch "dreaming" up for discussion? I would have only frightened away my supporters, who weren't very numerous anyway. Quite simply, as a rule, an invention meets with interest only when, so to speak, the still malleable child develops into a sturdy young man who, in order to survive, no longer allows himself to be pushed around so easily . Here, the independence of the researcher and inventor is often overestimated, not to mention the fact that scientific and technological development is such a complicated process that the conse- quences of any given innovation are very hard to predict. And something else is forgotten . .. something which might be called the soul, or Lebensgefuhl, the feeling of being alive, of not all but certainly many inventors. For them, invention or discovery is not one among many activities, but actually as Oswald Spengler said, a passion. Goethe has excellently captured this Lebensgefuhl in the character ofFaust. And, as in Faust, we find Mephistophelian figures in the company of many inventors and discoverers. Only too often the inventor is the idealist who, like Mephisto, tries to improve the world, only to be crushed by harsh realities. Ifhe wants to carry through his ideas, he is forced to do business with the wielders of power, whose sense of reality is sharper and more developed. Today such a power elite is generally - without wishing to make a judgment with this statement - the managers and the military. For example, America's development of the computer, or even of space travel, is not even imaginable without the support ofthe military.I myself have dealt chiefly with managers and scientists. According to my experi- ence, the probability of the individual protecting himself against such pact-making is slight. Two additional observations concerning the technical side of this book. First, many of my papers from before the war were lost during the war. So, for example, there are scarcely any pictures or designs of my first computing machines. Here and there I have had to make use of rough sketches. Second, I have assumed that not all of those interested in the history of the computer are also computer experts. Therefore, I have decided to write the book in as general a form as possible and to include technical appendices for the expert, with references to them in the text. Finally, I would like to thank all who have helped me in my work, in one capacity or another, and who today are no longer with us. These include first my parents and sister, as well as those with whom I worked directly: Professor Helmut Schreyer, Gunther Buttmann, the brothers Herbert and Horst Muller, Hans Lohmeyer, Dr. Hans-Jiirgen Funk and Theodor Fromme. In Germany I received special support from Kurt x Pannke, Profe ssor A. Teichmann, Professor Alwin Walther, Gerhard Overhoff, WaIter Hubing, Professor Hubert Cremer and Professor Herbert Wagner. After the war,I received considerable support also from Switzerland; my thanks go to Professor Donald Brinkmann, Oskar Weder, Dr. Heinz Rutishauser and especially to Professor Eduard Stiefel. I remember, too, the pioneers of computer development: Hans-Joachim Dreyer (Germany), Howard H. Aiken (U SA) , John von Neumann (USA) and John W. Mauchly (U SA).
Konrad Zuse
XI TABLE OF CO NTENTS
Chapter 1 Ancestors and parents - Earl y childhoo d memories - School days - M etropolis - Abitur ......
Ch apter 2 Studies (not without detours and by-ways) and genera l studies - First inventions - The Akademischer Verein M otiv - Student life betw een science and politi cs ...... 15
Ch apter 3 The early years of the compute r (and a digression on its prehistor y) - Colleagues remem ber - From mechanics to electromechanics -Schreyer's electronic computing machine - First outside contacts - Thoughts on the future...... 33
Chapter 4 Outbreak of the war and (first) call-up - Structural engineer in aircraft construction - T he Z2 and Z3 - Second call-up -