During the Second World War researchers working on the problem of removing the clutter from radar signals had developed a form of delay line memory, the first practical application of which was the mercury delay line, developed by J. Presper Eckert.
Durante a segunda guerra mundial varios investigadores que traballaban sobre o problema da eliminación do ruído nos sinais de radar desenvolveron unha forma de memoria de liña de retardo, sendo a primeira aplicación práctica deste deseño a liña de retardo de mercurio desenvolvida por J. Presper Eckert.