science

ITT System 12

ITT System 12 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand ITT System 12 rather than just read about it. In short: System 1240 (later System 12) was a new Digital Telephone Exchange developed in 1977 by ITT Corporation. It reportedly cost US$1 billion.

Key takeaways

ITT System 12 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect ITT System 12 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of ITT System 12 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

System 1240 (later System 12) was a new Digital Telephone Exchange developed in 1977 by ITT Corporation. It reportedly cost US$1 billion. It anticipated the features of ISDN of the 1990s.

It was designed at the Advanced Technology Center (Stamford, Connecticut and then Shelton, Connecticut.) Manufacturing was by ITT's subsidiaries such as BTM in Belgium, where the first production system was installed at Brecht in August 1982. Initial sales, particularly in Europe and Mexico, were strong, but the new system took longer than expected to integrate, with further losses. Against the advice of headquarters, ITT Telecommunications (ITT Kellogg) in Raleigh, North Carolina undertook the conversion to the US market, and although sales were announced in 1984 and 1985, the attempt ultimately failed, in early 1986.

Reception Fortune reported that "Araskog focused the company on an all-consuming push to develop and market System 12" and "shoveled profits from good businesses into System 12's insatiable maw". System 12 was intended to operate in all markets, and in all modes, from local switches to long distance.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with ITT System 12

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what ITT System 12 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to ITT System 12 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about ITT System 12 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of ITT System 12

In research: ITT System 12 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses ITT System 12 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: ITT System 12 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics ITT Inc., Telephone exchange equipment, Telephone exchanges, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for ITT System 12 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study ITT System 12 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what ITT System 12 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain ITT System 12 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is ITT System 12 in simple terms?

System 1240 (later System 12) was a new Digital Telephone Exchange developed in 1977 by ITT Corporation. It reportedly cost US$1 billion.

Why does ITT System 12 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study ITT System 12?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on ITT System 12.