Parametron: 50s Japanese computer that uses neither transistors nor vacuum tubes
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Eiichi Goto invented the parametron in 1954, a cheap ferrite-core logic element used in Japan's early computers.
The parametron, invented by Eiichi Goto at the University of Tokyo in 1954, uses ferrite cores and parametric oscillation for logic, storing information via phase differences. It was far cheaper than vacuum tubes (1,000 yen) or transistors (8,000 yen), a ferrite core cost 5 yen. The PC-1, Japan's first university-built stored-program computer, used 4,200 parametrons and became the nation's fastest in 1958. The parametron's stability and low cost shaped Japan's early computer industry, with commercial models selling over 700 units. Goto received the IRE Browder J. Thompson Memorial Prize in 1961.
What commenters are saying
Commenters note that parametrons were slower (10-15 kHz vs. MHz for vacuum tubes) and had physical scaling limits, making them a dead-end technology once transistors matured. Some found the history interesting, with one noting the NEAC-1101 (1958) used 3,600 parametrons and had performance comparable to a Commodore 64's BASIC. A few discuss the unrelated 'Goto' surname coincidence with Fortran's GOTO statement and with GotoBLAS. One mentions the quantum flux parametron as a modern variant using Josephson junctions.