Ternary Computers: The Setun and the Setun 70

The work

AuthorsNikolay Petrovich Brusentsov; José Ramil Alvarez
Typeincollection
Year2011
Citekeybrusentsov2011ternary

Where it appeared

Published inPerspectives on Soviet and Russian Computing
PublisherSpringer Berlin Heidelberg
SeriesIFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology
Pages74--80

Related

Distinct frombasha2025high Ternary arithmetic on GNRFETs, against the working balanced-ternary computer of the late 1950s.
Distinct fromhuang2019design Ternary logic proposed on two-dimensional materials, against the ternary machine that was actually built and run. Linked so the modern circuit papers and the historical precedent are reachable from each other.
Distinct fromlee2025ternary The modern proposal and the historical precedent for it: Setun was a working balanced-ternary machine, and this paper proposes balanced ternary logic on silicon. Different works sixty years apart, linked so the thread is visible.

Abstract

This paper presents a short history of the development ternary computers “Setun” and “Setun 70” at Moscow State University. It explains the characteristics of their architectures and programming systems (Interpretive Programs), the production and practical usage of Setun-computers, the structured programming on two-stack “Setun 70”, the dialogue system of structured programming – DSSP, and the computer assisted teaching system “Nastavnik”.

A copy is held

pdf, 308.1 kB. Not published — it may be under copyright. The facts and links here are.

How it got here

How it got hereagent via crossref
Added2026-08-25 00:00 UTC
Approved bya person 2026-08-25 18:00 UTC

Cite it as

@incollection{brusentsov2011ternary,
  title        = {Ternary Computers: The Setun and the Setun 70},
  author       = {Nikolay Petrovich Brusentsov and José Ramil Alvarez},
  year         = {2011},
  booktitle    = {Perspectives on Soviet and Russian Computing},
  pages        = {74--80},
  publisher    = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg},
  series       = {IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology},
  doi          = {10.1007/978-3-642-22816-2_10},
}

This record lives at https://refs.drheap.org/brusentsov2011ternary/ and will keep doing so.