[John Byrns]

In article ,
wrote:

I want to build a computer entirely out of tubes, and be able to
download and store the entire internet on it. How many tubes do I need?

Your question needs more definition, what do you mean by "entirely out of
tubes"? Are passive components like resistors and capacitors allowed or
disallowed? Must all storage be built from tubes, or can magnetic devices like
ferrite cores, magnetic tape, and disks be used for data storage functions?

Are there other requirements that your computer must meet, like speed of access
to the information?

If all data storage must be built from tubes that function will dominate the
tube count and it should be relatively easy to calculate the number of tubes
needed based on the size of the "entire internet" that is to be stored.

There are at least three very interesting design challenges that would be
presented by the design of your computer, but I will leave a discussion of those
challenges until after you have clarified your actual requirements.

Does anyone know the size of the "entire internet" and the rate at which it is
growing?

--
Regards,

John Byrns

Surf my web pages at, http://fmamradios.com/