Theshock spectrumfor an acceleration impulse applied to an electronic equipment or other component is a measure of severity of mechanical shock in terms of possible peak response at each frequency within the component structure. It is commonly measured by a reed gauge, which is intended to simulate the possible resonant characteristics of the internal structure. The reed gauge is bulky, however, and provides data at a limited number of frequencies.The shock spectrum computer operates on an accelerometer signal, either direct or recorded, and permits measurement of as many points in the spectrum as desired. It is a device which solves the differential equation of a simple undamped resonant mechanical appendage for any applied impulse of acceleration to yield the response. In the present version, the response is made available as an output signal which is applied to a commercial cathode‐ray oscilloscope. Peak accelerations and their time of occurance may be obtained readily from the oscilloscope display. The computer can be tuned to any frequency up to 2000 cps. Control circuitry is used to damp the computer shortly after each impulse and to undamp it immediately before the next so that the impulse under study can be applied repeatedly from a recirculating loop of magnetic tape. Shock spectra obtained from the computer and oscilloscope display are used as a measure of the severity of shocks experienced by electronic apparatus and as a basis for deriving shock specifications for use in design approval tests.