paper rolls indicating the positions of the fins, acceleration, velocity, and rate of spin of the missile, as well as the remaining distance between missile and target. Six sets of flashing neon lights on the panels of the computer displayed numbers representing the rates of spin, and the sidewise and forward velocities of the missile.
After only 60 seconds of operation, the computer automatically stopped and the solution was examined. RCA engineers then took the complete answers and explained what factors were right or wrong and how to make changes for better results.
Solution of the problem involved 250 additions, 67 multiplications, 30 integrations, and 20 aerodynamic functions, all carried on simultaneously with continuously variable factors. A mathematician and an assistant would require 6 months to compute a single solution for the minimum number of points required to give an approximate answer. Typhoon gave the continuous solution, for an infinite number of points, in less than 60 seconds.
A staff of nine engineers and mathematicians as well as six technical assistants is required to operate the computer when it is solving complex guided missile problems. To keep the sensitive instrument free of climatic influences, Typhoon is housed in a special air-conditioned room at RCA Laboratories which has a constant temperature of 75 ° Fahrenheit and a relative humidity of not more than 50 per cent.