24 Nov
1997
24 Nov
'97
2:49 a.m.
> Another fun project would be that nowawadays with
modern materials and
> computer controlled machining, it is now possible to make parts to the
> tolerances necessary to build a functional Analytical Engine. Anybody
> know where I can get a good copy of Babbage's designs?
It's been done. I read an article in the
Scientific American a few
years back, where some guys from the British Museum, I think, built
the Analytical Engine according to Babbages design.
They corrected a couple of minor design flaws (some speculate that
Babbage put them there on purpose to discourage Industrial
Espionage), and fabricated the whole thing from several tons of
Iron, brass, and bronze parts.
They didn't have funding to build the whole machine (the printer
alone is an engineering marvel), but the machine worked! They
succeeded where Babbage had failed.
What I saw demonstrated at the Science Museum (part of the British
Museum) 5 years ago was a working _difference_ engine. This had a
couple of design bugs fixed (one in the ripple carry mechanism IIRC) and
no printer.
I don't recall anything about an analytical engine being built at this
time. Has it been done since? Do tell!
Philip.
24 Nov
24 Nov
3:21 a.m.
What I saw demonstrated at the Science Museum (part of
the British
Museum) 5 years ago was a working _difference_ engine. This had a
couple of design bugs fixed (one in the ripple carry mechanism IIRC) and
no printer.
Yep. There's Egg on my face. As punishment, I shall wear a bronze
cogwheel from my neck that says: "I can't tell the _difference_
between an analyitcal engine and a dead crab." =B:-0
I don't recall anything about an analytical engine
being built at this
time. Has it been done since? Do tell!
See above.
Jeff
27 Nov
27 Nov
12:17 a.m.
Jeff Kaneko wrote:
Yes, I'd heard about the Difference Engine that had been built, that's
why I'd rather check out the bill of materials for the more ambitious
project.
If anybody on this list reads science fiction in the spare time left
over from rebuilding computers, _The Difference Engine_ by William
Gibson and Bruce Sterling is a fairly good read and _In the Country of
the Blind_ by Michael J. Flynn is an excellent one. Both of these
novels build from the premise "What if Babbage succeeded?" in very
different ways.
--
Ward Griffiths
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails
of the last priest." [Denis Diderot, "Dithyrambe sur la fete de rois"]
What I saw demonstrated at the Science Museum
(part of the British
Museum) 5 years ago was a working _difference_ engine. This had a
couple of design bugs fixed (one in the ripple carry mechanism IIRC) and
no printer.
Yep. There's Egg on my face. As punishment, I shall wear a bronze
cogwheel from my neck that says: "I can't tell the _difference_
between an analyitcal engine and a dead crab." =B:-0
I don't recall anything about an analytical
engine being built at this
time. Has it been done since? Do tell!
See above. 
4:40 a.m.
> > What I saw demonstrated at the Science Museum
(part of the British
> > Museum) 5 years ago was a working _difference_ engine. This had a
> > couple of design bugs fixed (one in the ripple carry mechanism IIRC) and
> > no printer.
The Science Museum has a webpage at www.nmsi.ac.uk
It contains the British National Collection of Computing amongst its
huge varied amount of other objects.
I used to work there about 15 years ago (pre the new Difference Engine)
and one of my jobs was to demonstrate Babbage's original D.E. to
visitors and it frequently jammed due to a faulty carry sequence,
although the rest of the time it worked beautifully and is a truly
glorious thing to behold.
Oh, and it has never been part of the British Museum (unlike the Natural
History Museum) but originated from the post-Great Exhibition plans of
1851 when the Crystal Palace was built.
Martin Evans of Strawberry Hill & Central London - Mail me on London's
history & topography, architecture, second-hand bookshops, food,
pro-audio engineering, museums, collecting and wood-engraving.
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3 comments
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participants (4)
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gram＠cnct.com -
Jeff.Kaneko＠ifrsys.com -
martin＠paladio.demon.co.uk -
Philip.Belben＠powertech.co.uk