Babbage Analytical Engine designs to be digitised Skip to main content

Babbage Analytical Engine designs to be digitised

Part of Babbage analytical engine A small part of the Analytical engine was built before Charles Babbage's death in 1871

Related Stories

A project to construct one of the earliest mechanical computers based on sketches by its designer, Charles Babbage, has received a major boost.
The Science Museum in London has agreed to help by digitising the mathematician's original plans.
Eventually the images will be used to create a full working model of the Analytical Engine.
Conceived in the late 1830s, it foreshadowed the modern computer revolution by more than a century.
Babbage's many notepads and sketch books are currently held in the Science Museum's archives, but have never been converted into a form that is easily accessible.
It is hoped that the digital documents will allow researchers around the world to pick apart the many disparate ideas and settle on the definitive version of the machine.
"There are some complete plans, they are just not totally complete. There will be a degree of interpretation," said John Graham-Cumming, the programmer and computer historian who has been championing the project.
Mr Graham-Cumming explained that, following a period of study, a computer simulation of the Analytical Engine would be produced before its eventual construction.
"The machine itself is going to be enormous, about the size of a small steam train, so the simulation is important to allow anyone access," added Mr Graham-Cumming.
Computing power
Portrait of Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (1791-1871) is widely regarded as the inventor of computing.
Another key figure in the drive to build the Analytical Engine is Doron Swade, the Science Museum's curator of computing who led the construction of Babbage's earlier design, the Difference Engine No.2 between 1989 and 1991.
Where the Difference Engine was essentially an early calculator, the more sophisticated Analytical Engine is closer to a complete computer, with input via punched cards, processing by its rotating mechanical barrels and output to a printer, plotter or ringing bell.
In terms of processing power, Mr Graham-Cumming said it was possible to make some rough estimates about the Analytical Engine's capability.
Its memory would be equivalent to around 675bytes, or just over half that of Sinclair's ZX81, released in 1981. A later proposal by Babbage called for 20KB of storage.
The machine's clock speed would work out at around 7Hz, compared to the ZX81's 3.2MHz. Current high end microprocessors currently run at around 3GHz, although their sophisticated architecture means they are many, many times more powerful.
"[The Analytical Engine] is actually quite fast given that it's all in cogs, so Babbage was thinking about something relatively powerful. Of course, we're far beyond that now," said Mr Graham-Cumming.
The project does not yet have a fixed timescale, although it was unlikely to produce anything physical for "at least five years".
Mr Graham-Cumming said he had set the goal of completing it by 2021 - the 150th anniversary of Charles Babbage's death.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15001514
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...
1 comment
Read more

Ancient Rakhine City of Mrauk-U Proposed for UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Irrawaddy YANGON—Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture submitted the final draft of its nomination for Mrauk-U to become a World Heritage Site to UNESCO on Monday, four months after the ministry submitted the first draft of its nomination in September 2019. If the application succeeds, Mrauk-U will be the third place in Myanmar to be inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, after the ancient cities of Bagan and Pyu. Mrauk-U is located in northern Rakhine State, around 60 km from the state capital of Sittwe. The ancient city was the seat of Arakanese kings from the 1400s until the late 1700s. At the height of their power, they controlled an area covering large parts of eastern Bengal, modern-day Rakhine State and the western part of central Myanmar. Much of the city’s remains are well-preserved and some 380 historic temples are scattered between the lush hills of northern Rakhine. Mrauk-U Heritage Trust chairwoman Daw Khin Than told The Irrawaddy on Tue...
1 comment
Read more

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...
Post a Comment
Read more