He discovers a rare 1956 computer in his grandfather’s basement that gave rise to chaos theory.

A German Reddit user posted several photos of a stranger. 1956 computer what did you find in grandpa’s basement: very rarely Libraskop LGP-30, of which only 45 units were made. This computer was developed chaos theory. And that wasn’t his only surprise.

Libraskop LGP-30 it was the first to be called the “office computer”. AT 1956 The microchip had not yet been invented (it appeared in 1958), so computers used vacuum valves D diodeswhich were very bulky. That’s why computers took up entire rooms.

However, the LGP-30 was a “compact” vacuum tube computer, slightly smaller than a washing machine. Its dimensions are 84 x 112 x 66 cm. Of course, it was difficult to move it: weighed 360 kg.

The most curious thing is that they did it typewriter. It was necessary to type commands that the keyboard itself converted into dots stamped on a strip of paper. This band was entered into a computer and carried out orders.

In this photo you can see the interior, the vacuum valves and the typewriter that served as the keyboard:

Libraskop LGP-30 it was designed by Stan Frankel, who worked on the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb.

I had 113 vacuum tubes D 1450 diodeswith a consumption of 1500 watts. Also used drum memory. It was a magnetic memory that rotated like a hard drive. LGP-30 just reached 15 KB memory. It was a very difficult computer to handle and very delicate. At the moment there is only one that works 100%.

It was also a very expensive computer: in 1956 dollars it cost $47,000, which is equivalent today to 500,000 euros. were only made 45 units in Europe.

LGP-30, chaos theory computer

It is curious that chaos theory was born in such a computer. Mathematician and meteorologist Edward Norton Lorenz used the LGP-30 to study weather patterns. He discovered that small changes in the weather could cause storms and hurricanes elsewhere, coining the term “butterfly Effect“. He is considered the founder chaos theory.

Reddit user c-wizz’s grandfather used it to perform engineering calculationsand was one of the few people in the world who had such a computer at home, bought personally.

if this LGP-30 still running and they manage to run it, it might cost around million euro.

But that’s not the only surprise he found in his grandfather’s basement. There were two other rare computers 1970: two RAP 8\ewhich cost about $6,800 at the time:

A computer treasure that, in addition to its historical value, can reach a high price in the market. Judging by the photo, the equipment is in good condition.

find a rare computer Libraskop LGP-30 from 1956 to grandpa’s basementIt doesn’t happen every day. And even less, accompanied by two 1970 PDP 8\e, almost as valuable. A living history of computing in the family basement.