<s>
The	O
ORACLE	B-Device
or	O
Oak	O
Ridge	O
Automatic	O
Computer	O
and	O
Logical	O
Engine	O
,	O
an	O
early	O
computer	O
built	O
by	O
Oak	O
Ridge	O
National	O
Laboratory	O
,	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
IAS	B-Device
architecture	O
developed	O
by	O
John	O
von	O
Neumann	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
name	O
was	O
selected	O
with	O
reference	O
to	O
a	O
lyrical	O
acronym	O
from	O
Greek	O
mythology	O
—	O
ORACLE	B-Device
,	O
defined	O
as	O
'	O
a	O
shrine	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
deity	O
reveals	O
hidden	O
knowledge.	O
'	O
</s>
<s>
Assembled	O
before	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
transistors	B-Application
and	O
microchips	O
,	O
the	O
ORACLE	B-Device
was	O
a	O
large	O
scientific	O
digital	O
computer	O
that	O
used	O
vacuum	O
tubes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Operational	O
in	O
1954	O
,	O
for	O
a	O
time	O
the	O
ORACLE	B-Device
had	O
the	O
fastest	O
speed	O
and	O
largest	O
data	O
storage	O
capacity	O
of	O
any	O
computer	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Problems	O
that	O
would	O
have	O
required	O
two	O
mathematicians	O
with	O
electric	O
calculators	O
three	O
years	O
to	O
solve	O
could	O
be	O
done	O
on	O
the	O
ORACLE	B-Device
in	O
20	O
minutes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
 [ Alston ] 	O
Householder	O
and	O
the	O
Mathematics	O
Panel	O
used	O
the	O
ORACLE	B-Device
to	O
analyze	O
radiation	O
and	O
shielding	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1957	O
,	O
Hezz	O
Stringfield	O
and	O
Ward	O
Foster	O
,	O
both	O
of	O
the	O
Budget	O
Office	O
,	O
also	O
adopted	O
the	O
ORACLE	B-Device
for	O
more	O
mundane	O
but	O
equally	O
important	O
tasks	O
—	O
annual	O
budgeting	O
and	O
monthly	O
financial	O
accounting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
last	O
'	O
homemade	O
computers	O
,	O
'	O
the	O
ORACLE	B-Device
became	O
obsolete	O
by	O
the	O
1960s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
the	O
initial	O
applications	O
of	O
the	O
ORACLE	B-Device
to	O
nuclear	O
aircraft	O
problems	O
,	O
computer	O
enthusiasm	O
spread	O
like	O
lightning	O
throughout	O
the	O
Laboratory	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
time	O
,	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
machines	O
became	O
common	O
in	O
all	O
the	O
Laboratory	O
's	O
divisions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ORACLE	B-Device
was	O
operational	O
(	O
passed	O
acceptance	O
test	O
)	O
in	O
1953	O
,	O
and	O
replaced	O
the	O
USAF-Fairchild	O
Computer	O
(	O
or	O
"	O
SPEC	O
"	O
-	O
Special	O
Purpose	O
Electronic	O
Computer	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
all	O
computers	O
of	O
its	O
era	O
,	O
the	O
ORACLE	B-Device
computer	O
was	O
a	O
one-of-a-kind	O
machine	O
that	O
could	O
not	O
exchange	O
programs	O
with	O
other	O
computers	O
(	O
even	O
other	O
IAS	B-Device
machines	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
used	O
vacuum	O
tubes	O
,	O
transistors	B-Application
,	O
and	O
diodes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
used	O
a	O
Williams	B-General_Concept
tube	I-General_Concept
for	O
2048	O
words	O
of	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ORACLE	B-Device
pre-dated	O
input	O
from	O
disks	O
and	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
punch	O
cards	O
with	O
computers	O
;	O
it	O
used	O
paper	O
tape	O
for	O
input	O
and	O
breakage	O
of	O
the	O
tape	O
was	O
a	O
frequent	O
problem	O
.	O
</s>
