Design of the naval research laboratory computer

THE NAVAL Research Laboratory Electronic Digital Computer (NAREC) is to be a general-purpose electronic digital computing machine capable of high-speed computations with binary numbers having a precision of 44 digits (about 13 decimal digits). The high-speed and precision characteristics of the computer will make it especially valuable not only for reduction of experimental data but also for the solution of systems of linear equations with a large number of unknowns, nonlinear differential equations, and other problems involving computations of similar magnitude. The design of the NAREC was begun in July 1949, and it is hoped that the computer will be placed in operation by January 1952 with an additional six months being required to place the computer on an efficient operating schedule.