Delay-line memory
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Delay-line memory is an early form of computer memory that stores information as a sequence of pulses travelling through a physical delay medium. The pulses circulate repeatedly, so electronic circuits must detect, regenerate, and reinsert them.
Some systems used acoustic waves travelling through mercury or solid materials, while others used electrical or magnetostrictive delay lines. Each line stored many bits in serial order rather than providing immediate access to every location.
Because a requested bit became available only when it reached the end of the line, access time depended on its position in the circulating sequence. Timing and pulse regeneration had to be carefully controlled to prevent data loss.
Delay-line memory was used in several early digital computers and radar systems before magnetic-core memory became dominant. It is historically important because it demonstrated practical recirculating storage using wave propagation and precisely timed feedback.
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- Source / publisher: Wikipedia
- URL type: WWW
- Credits: Wikipedia
- URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay-line_memory