An outstanding feature of the Ferranti Mercury Computer is that magnetic

cores are used for the store in which all computation is carried out. These
cores are mounted in square arrays of 32 by 32. The typical plate illustrated
above contains two such arrays, one on either side. The central coloured
area in the photograph has been enlarged and used as a background on the
front cover of this brochure.
 An Introduction to the

MERCURY COMPUTER

Ferranti Ltd. announce a new large-scale Electronic Digital Com-

puter, to be known as MERCURY. In the design of this computer,
the aim has been to produce a machine which, although completely
versatile, will be principally used in performing calculations of a
scientific and technical nature. The design has been evolved with
the collaboration of Manchester University. The main features
were established after a prolonged study of the requirements of a
computing machine; the engineering techniques have resulted from
intensive research and development in the Ferranti laboratories.
To this has been added the wealth of experience that Ferranti
engineers and mathematicians have obtained in the application and
use of computers in the last eight years. The resulting machine is a
truly remarkable one - immensely powerful, of enormous capacity,
exceptionally fast, and providing facilities for the most advanced
techniques of programming.
There are many classes of problem (large sets of partial differen-
tial equations, for example) which, although they may theoretically
be solved on existing machines, are found in practice to take far too
(Continued overleaf)
long. It is confidently expected that many such problems will
easily fall within the scope of Mercury.
Of the many interesting features of Mercury, there are three
principal ones which deserve special mention. The first is the speed;
arithmetical operations take on average only 180 microseconds.
With a machine working at this speed, it becomes possible to
perform calculations of a nature hitherto considered quite intrac-
table.
The second special feature, and this is in some ways even more
important than the first, is that all arithmetical operations are
carried out on numbers represented in floating-point form. This
simply means that numbers are stored in two parts: a standardized
fractional part (in the range one-half to one, positive or negative),
and an 'exponent' part with a sufficiently wide range to accommo-
date all numbers likely to occur in practical computations. This
arrangement ensures that all numbers are held and handled within
the machine in such a way that overflow of any register cannot
occur. The range of the numbers which can be accommodated is,
in practice, unlimited; in scientific problems this feature is an
enormous advantage, as it is generally difficult to predict the ranges
of the variables of the computation without doing subsidiary cal-
culations.
The third main feature is the storage capacity provided in this
machine. The computer embodies the principle (which is also the
basis of the Ferranti Manchester Computers Mark I and Mark I*,
and the Ferranti Pegasus Computer (of a high-speed store in which
all the computation is done, backed by large capacity magnetic drum
storage units. In Mercury the computing store is sufficient to hold
large sections of a calculation, and the backing store has a capacity
which experience has shown gives the user great freedom of action.
These features, and many others, combine to make the Mercury
Computer an indispensable tool in any establishment where large-
scale calculations have to be carried out.
 sound reasons why an organisation
wou d benefi by using a Ferranti Mercury Computer

UTILITY Mercury will readily handle all kinds of lengthy and complex computing
problems encountered in industry and research.

w- The name Ferranti has a world-wide reputation for quality in electronic

products.

F This machine has an unusually high performance v. cost characteristic.

Library of Standard Routines

There will be available with every machine a comprehensive library of all
the routines that are likely to be of assistance to a user in drawing up new
programmes.

Customer Liaison
Ferranti Ltd. arrange for the interchange of information on computing
techniques amongst the users of Ferranti machines. The opportunity
exists for each user to circulate descriptions of calculations and pro-
grammes of general interest and, reciprocally, thereby benefit from the
work done by other users.

Training of Operators and Engineers

From time to time, training courses are arranged for those learning to
prepare programmes, and for maintenance engineers.
Instruction manuals will be available, covering the writing of programmes,
the operation of the machine and its maintenance.

Performance Tests
It is normal practice for Ferranti Ltd. to put each Computer through very
comprehensive performance tests, both at their factory and after installa-
tion in the customer's premises; these may be attended by representatives
of the customer and also by an independent authority if required.
FERRANTI YERCUR
h
.- . x This artist's impr~ ession shows a typical Mercury
' installation. The i~nput tape-reader is on the left of
-.' the control desk, and the output tape punch and
-' ': teleprinter are to the right
- of the desk. The cabinets
on the left contain the accumulator and multiplier
C
,SI ,- units; the cabinets adjoining the desk contain the

dependent magnetic drum 2 ,..

. , , ,. .
,... :.

.. . , .
. ;yC.-..: .-.
, , ... ' , = . - _-.. :,,I
.
'
,
 The Main Features L
OF THE FERRANTI MERCURY COMPUTER

Speed of Operation The time required to add (or subtract) two floating-point numbers is only 180 micro-
seconds, while two such numbers may be multiplied in 300 microseconds. A group of
operations chiefly used for the organization of a calculation take only 60 microseconds.
An important factor contributing to the high speed of operation is that there is no
delay associated with obtaining any number held in the computing store.
Floating-point The Ferranti Mercury Computer is a floating-point machine. This means that all
Representation numbers within the machine automatically scale themselves as the calculation pro-
of numbers ceeds. At all times, every number is stored and handled with a precision equivalent
to about nine decimal digits.
Magnetic Core All computation is carried out in a store consisting of magnetic cores. The reliability
Computing Store of this form of storage is very great and will ensure long periods of trouble-free
operation. The computing store has the very large capacity of 1024 words (a word
being one number or two orders). The capacity of the computing store may be reduced
to a half or a quarter of its standard size, should this be desired for machines intended
for special or restricted applications.
Magnetic Drum The Mercury computer has for its backing store four magnetic drums with a total
Backing Store capacity of over 16,000 full-length wards, equivalent to over half a million binary
digits. This storage is sufficient for a very large proportion of the problems which
occur in science and technology, and obviates the need for such devices as punching
out intermediate results for re-input to the computer at a later stage of the calculation.
Input and Output Programme material and numerical data are fed into the computer on 5-hole tele-
printer tape, which is read by a Ferranti high-speed photoelectric Tape Reader (at
400 characters per second). Results are presented by means of a medium-speed Tape
Punch (working at 33 characters per second), on a tape which may be printed out by
means of a teleprinter. Provision is made for the addition of other input/output
devices (e.g. magnetic tape) if these are desired. The teleprinter code for both input
and output has been chosen in such a way as to make it extremely unlikely that any
errors which might occur shall pass undetected.
Internal Checking Along with every group of digits inside the machine is stored an extra digit which is
used for checking purposes only. If a defect in the computing store should cause any
number to change, this would automatically be detected when the number was next
referred to. There is a similar check on the information in the backing store.
The Order Code The form of the instructions for the Ferranti Mercury Computer is based on the years
of experience that Ferranti experts have had in introducing programming to new-
comers in the programming field. The system is simple enough to be readily learnt,
yet at the same time pleasing to the expert, who will find everything he could wish for.
In Mercury, the instructions are obeyed in the same order as they are written (unless
a specific break is called for), and the full computing speed is obtained without having
to consider any special arrangement of the instructions, or the relative timing of one
with another. Thus, the difficulties of 'optimum programming' do not arise. Decimal
numbers are used to define the functions, and the addresses of the storage locations.
There is a single accumulator, and each instruction refers implicitly to this accumu-
lator, and to one other number, referred to through its address in the computing
store. For example, 'add the number stored in address 30 into the accumulator'.
A very full range of functions has been provided (approximately 60) and their
codes have been arranged in a logical manner for the benefit of the programmer, who
is very soon able to remember the most important codes without having made any
conscious effort to learn them.
In order to facilitate repeated operations on a series of numbers (i.e. where similar
operations are carried out on numbers in a series of addresses), seven special registers
have been provided, which are known as B-registers. Every instruction specifies one
B-register, and the effect is that the contents of this B-register are added to the address-
part of the instruction before the instruction is obeyed. This arrangement is simple
but effective, and has been an established feature of Ferranti Computers for many
years.
Of the seven B-registers, one has been selected to play a special r81e. B-register
number 7 may be used as a short accumulator when it is desired to work with small
integers equivalent to about three decimal digits. The instructions relating to this
short accumulator may be modified by the contents of any of the B-registers; for
example, numbers may be transferred to B7 from a B-modified address.
Instructions involving the B-registers require only 60 microseconds for their execu-
tion. This implies a reduction in the ratio of the time spent in carrying out 'red-tape'
instructions (i.e. those instructions required solely for the organization of the calcu-
lation), to the useful computing time.
 I
/ Driving Motor

The backing store consists of four magnetic drums,

each rotating at 3472 r.p.m., and having a storage
capacity of 4096 40-digit words. Every group of 10
digits in the backing store has a check digit associated
with it; this digit is referred to whenever a transfer is
Reading and made to the computing store. Any error in operation
Writing Heads
will be detected and the machine will indicate this and
stop.

The rectangular loop ferrite core-storage system pro-

vides a basic capacity of 1024 10-digit words for the
computing store. Magnetic cores are inherently stable,
and full advantages of their characteristics has been
taken in the design of the system. The cores are
arranged in square arrays of size 32 by 32, and 44
such arrays comprise the whole computing store. The
10 digits of any short word, and the associated check
digit, are stored in the corresponding positions of a
group of 11 squares. Any core is interrogated by ener-
gizing the appropriate horizontal and vertical wires,
and reading the answer on a diagonal wire. The 10
digits of a short word are available to the arithmetical
unit in parallel, and are converted into serial form for
all operations within the computer.

Data are represented by holes punched in paper tape.

The digits 0 to 9 are all represented by rows contain-
ing an odd number of holes. This allows them to be
checked, for should an error have occurred and one
hole be dropped or an extra one put in, the resulting
character would not be a number but some other
symbol. On input the check is made by the computer;
on output any such error would be immediately
apparent.
Some applications o f

perran ti Computers