Re:DEC PDP-1 emulator running "Spacewar", the earliest known...
by masswerk on Monday April 29, 2024 @01:49AM
(#40194894)
Actually, the real thing can be seen (and played) at the Computer History Museum (CHM) in Mountain View/CA. [1][2] As far as I know, there's only one restored and functional PDP-1.
(There are some unrestored, like at the Smithsonian, but these are stored away in boxes.)
Regarding the CRT tube and phosphor: The display uses a CRT tube developed for RADAR, which uses P7 phosphor. This features a short, responsive activation in bright blue and a long sustain in greenish-yellow. (It's actually a 3D display, as in X/Y and time. It also features 8 intensities of brightness, which do not scale too well, for which Spacewar! rather manages apparent brightness by refresh rates.)
(There are some unrestored, like at the Smithsonian, but these are stored away in boxes.)
[1] https://computerhistory.org/exhibits/pdp-1/
[2] https://www.computerhistory.org/pdp-1/
Regarding the CRT tube and phosphor: The display uses a CRT tube developed for RADAR, which uses P7 phosphor. This features a short, responsive activation in bright blue and a long sustain in greenish-yellow. (It's actually a 3D display, as in X/Y and time. It also features 8 intensities of brightness, which do not scale too well, for which Spacewar! rather manages apparent brightness by refresh rates.)