Inventions

Two Facts about Sector The sector is a military compass used as a calculating instrument.  Sector was introduced in the early 17th century and was used to perform easily diverse geometric and arithmetic operations. Sector History The Sector, also known as a compass of proportion, is a standard mathematical instrument that consists of two equal-length […]

4 Facts About Astrolabe An Astrolabe is an invention that generates results with the universe’s help. It uses the positions of the stars or the sun to calculate results. It was once used in navigation to assist explorers and sailors in navigation. They calculated the distance by measuring the distance between the sun and the […]

2 Facts about Pehr-Georg and Edvard Scheutz’s Differential Engine The Differential Engine of Pehr and Georg was an extended, smaller, and better version of Charles Babbage’s Differential Engine. While Babbage’s engine cost 15000 pounds in 1829 “and was yet incomplete,” Scheutz stated that he could build a machine for 20000 riksdaller banco (about 1638 pounds) […]

3 Facts about Leonardo Torres y Quevedo’s Calculating Machine A model of Thomas de Colmar’s arithmometer, dating from 1820, is on display in the Torres Quevedo Museum. The world utilized it until the introduction of more complicated machines capable of more sophisticated computations in the 19th century. This calculating machine uses a straightforward approach to […]

3 Facts about Christel Hamann’s Differential Engine All its printed plates were given to Astronomisches Rechen-Institute in Berlin, and the first and second results were published in 1910 and 1911, respectively.  It was an invention built on the idea of two astronomers, Julius Bauschinger and Jean peters, who wanted to do a further mathematical calculation […]

3 Facts about George Grant’s Difference Engine George Grant’s difference engine was first displayed in 1876 at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. This difference engine was just one of the many calculation machines by inventor George Grant. George Grant also contributed to Botany, with a collection of previously undocumented plants at the Stanford University herbarium. […]

Charles Babbage, 1791-1871. Portrait from the Illustrated London News, Nov. 4, 1871 Differential Engine A numerical table is a tool designed to save the time and labour of those engaged in computing work. The oldest tables which are preserved, were compiled in Babylon in the period 1800-1500 B.C. They were intended to be used for […]

ON A PROPOSED ANALYTICAL MACHINE by Percy E. Ludgate Read February 23. Ordered for Publication March 9. Published April 28, 1909 I purpose to give in this paper a short account of the result of about six years’ work, undertaken by me with the object of designing machinery capable of performing calculations, however intricate or […]

3 Facts about Charles Babbage Analytical Engine The Analytical Engine was a general-purpose, completely program-controlled, mechanical digital computer with no human intervention. The store intended to be large enough to contain 1,000 50-digit numbers, which was more than any computer constructed before 1960 could store. No evidence is there that anyone had ever thought about, […]