Fifty Years Ago .... from the pages of Computer Weekly

15th August 1974 computing, compiled by TNMOC volunteer archivist, Brian Aldous.

A selection of stories from Computer Weekly from 15th August 1974. The full archive of Computer Weekly can be seen at TNMOC, where there are special rolling displays of front pages from 25 and 40 years ago.

PDP-8/E aid to Soil Analysis: Soil samples are being analysed automatically for lime requirement, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium at Johnstown Castle Research Centre, Wexford, Ireland, by specially designed equipment under the control of a 4K Digital Equipment PDP-8/E. Liquid extracts of the soils are mixed with reagent and pumped from a sample transporter to linked test-tubes on a sample changer. The test-tubes are moved in turn to a pipette head which lowers a probe into the liquid and pumps a sample to a spectrophotometer, a flame photometer and an atomic absorption spectrophotometer for measurement of P, K and Mg. At the same time a probe on a second transporter pumps an extract for lime requirement through a flow electrode for measurement by a pH meter. After 15 seconds the sample changer interrupts the computer which then takes and averages 4,096 readings each of LR, P, K and Mg. (CW 406 15/8/1974 p39)