Calculating machine
Encyclopedia
A calculating machine is a machine designed to come up with calculations or, in other words, computations. One noted machine was the Victorian
British
scientist Charles Babbage
's Difference Engine (No. 2)
, designed in the 1840s but never completed in the inventor's lifetime. A working example, based on Babbage's original specifications and using only materials available during the mid-19th century, was built at the London Science Museum in the late 1990s.
A "calculating machine" is different from an "adding machine
"; the later which is used for solving sum
s.
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
scientist Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
's Difference Engine (No. 2)
Difference engine
A difference engine is an automatic, mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions. Both logarithmic and trigonometric functions can be approximated by polynomials, so a difference engine can compute many useful sets of numbers.-History:...
, designed in the 1840s but never completed in the inventor's lifetime. A working example, based on Babbage's original specifications and using only materials available during the mid-19th century, was built at the London Science Museum in the late 1990s.
A "calculating machine" is different from an "adding machine
Adding machine
An adding machine was a class of mechanical calculator, usually specialized for bookkeeping calculations.In the United States, the earliest adding machines were usually built to read in dollars and cents. Adding machines were ubiquitous office equipment until they were phased out in favor of...
"; the later which is used for solving sum
Addition
Addition is a mathematical operation that represents combining collections of objects together into a larger collection. It is signified by the plus sign . For example, in the picture on the right, there are 3 + 2 apples—meaning three apples and two other apples—which is the same as five apples....
s.
See also
- George Brown (inventor)George Brown (inventor)George Brown was a Scottish arithmetician, and inventor of two incomplete mechanical calculating machines now kept at the National Museum of Scotland...
- CalculatorCalculatorAn electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...
- History of computing hardwareHistory of computing hardwareThe history of computing hardware is the record of the ongoing effort to make computer hardware faster, cheaper, and capable of storing more data....