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Video: Charles Babbage's Difference Machine No. 2 Fully Operational
Posted by Adrian Covert at 7:27 AM on May 2, 2008
For those who haven't yet heard, a band of number-crunching nostalgists took the concept design for Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2, and turned it into a real, fully functional machine. Today, it went on display at the Computer History museum in San Jose. Difference Engine No. 2, designed in 1847, was designed to calculate and tabulate values run through polynomial functions up to the seventh order. It, along with the other Babbage Engines, is considered to be the first automatic computing machine.
For those who haven't yet heard, a band of number-crunching nostalgists took the concept design for Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2, and turned it into a real, fully functional machine. Today, it went on display at the Computer History museum in San Jose. Difference Engine No. 2, designed in 1847, was designed to calculate and tabulate values run through polynomial functions up to the seventh order. It, along with the other Babbage Engines, is considered to be the first automatic computing machine.
For those who slept through all their math classes (ahem...JASON CHEN...ahem), think of an equation like y=x^3+4x+4, where you're given a list of integers and asked to solve for y in each instance. Babbage was tired of repeatedly doing this by hand and wanted an automated way to solve polynomial functions. He thought there was too much room for human error, so he put together the Difference Engine, which acts like a super-powered calculator.
The machine is powered by a hand crank, which gets the various gears, levers and springs moving, and uses giant mechanical rods representing number values around to push around a bunch of numbers until—presto, change-o—you have your answers printed on a piece of paper (technical, I know).
The Difference Engine No. 1 design, created in 1821, is one of the earliest concepts for a computer. It was able to handle 16-digit numbers run through polynomials up to the 6th order and print them out in tabulated form. It required 25,000 parts, would have stood 2.5 metres tall and weighed 15 tons.
Difference Engine No.2, finished in 1849, was a sleeker, more powerful beast (similar to the difference between Iron Man's Mark 1 and Mark 2 suits). It was designed to handle numbers 31 digits long, only required 8000 parts, and in addition to printing paper results, could imprint tables into a plaster mold for future reproduction. The specs called for it to stand 3.5 metres long and weigh 5 tons.
The machine design even features built-in error detection, where the machine jams if it comes across a non-whole number at any point in the process. I'll avoid getting into the nitty-gritty of the forumlas and equations, because frankly, its neither as interesting or impressive as the mere fact that Babbage concocted this in the 1800s. But you can read up on the full computational breakdown here. [Computer History Museum]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Monty
Posted 8:44 AM 2/5/08
This actually is a solution to the age-old problem of kids bringing calculators into math class and 'cheating'. If they were forced to use mechanical calculators, no teacher in the world would deny a kid who found a way to drag something in like this.
Monty
mycroft2000
Posted 8:41 AM 2/5/08
@--Tito--: No, but it can play WoW.
mycroft2000
Log1c
Posted 8:40 AM 2/5/08
I want to see it actually do some math, like 2+2 or something.
But hell yeah its mesmerizing, thats fucking awesome.
Log1c
nystreetfilms
Posted 8:39 AM 2/5/08
It's cool... but it's no iPhone.
nystreetfilms
ParJoe
Posted 8:23 AM 2/5/08
No mention of Steam Punk? This is the quintessential Steam Punk device. (Um...regardless of the fact that there's no steam or punks to speak of).
Still though...it's mesmerizing to see that thing in action.
ParJoe
Denver_80203
Posted 8:12 AM 2/5/08
In 150 years there will be a variation on the this where someone makes vista work well. Crowds will be astounded.
Denver_80203
--Tito--
Posted 8:05 AM 2/5/08
@valarmorghulis: Darn, I heard it never overheated.
--Tito--
bung
Posted 7:59 AM 2/5/08
That is an incredible piece of machinery.
bung
ripfire4
Posted 7:58 AM 2/5/08
It's too bad in school (at least in my time), they don't teach the history of math to appreciate it more.
ripfire4
Gann
Posted 7:56 AM 2/5/08
wow
Gann
Rabid Penguin
Posted 7:54 AM 2/5/08
@valarmorghulis:
Yeah, by the time you've purchased all the necessary upgrades to make it run at a decent framerate you may as well just buy a new machine.
Rabid Penguin
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 7:50 AM 2/5/08
Also, thanks for the link. Even this non-math guy thinks the computational breakdown is almost as beautiful.
92BuickLeSabre
valarmorghulis
Posted 7:49 AM 2/5/08
@--Tito--: Yes, load times are approximatly 285 years though, and the 3D is total shit.
valarmorghulis
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 7:48 AM 2/5/08
@zenpoet and termitehead: Exactly. Truly awe-inspiring.
92BuickLeSabre
--Tito--
Posted 7:42 AM 2/5/08
Can it play Crisis?
--Tito--
termitehead
Posted 7:37 AM 2/5/08
I have never seen a more beautiful machine in motion
termitehead
zenpoet
Posted 7:37 AM 2/5/08
I am surprised that this isn't sitting on the writing desk of W. Gibson.
Tis' a thing of beauty, it is.
zenpoet
Reilaos~
Posted 9:12 AM 2/5/08
Imagine a world where these things took off instead of electronics. Steampunk and semaphore towers for the win!
Reilaos~
se7a7n7
Posted 8:56 AM 2/5/08
Dammit Giz, stop posting these awesome stories, I'm trying to get some work done.
se7a7n7
DeLarge
Posted 9:42 AM 2/5/08
Precision german watch... MMhhhh.... I wonder how more wonderfull would be if they used SWISS watch precision.
DeLarge
BigDogues
Posted 11:05 AM 2/5/08
I've seen these difference engines before. They are truly un-fucking-believable. Babbage doesn't get nearly enough credit for his work.
And yeah it's not an iphone. Considering when this was created it is far beyond that.
BigDogues
kaneshadow
Posted 10:40 AM 2/5/08
@ParJoe: Simple solution, instead of having some poor shlub cranking this thing you add a steam turbine. Then wear a mohawk and suspenders.
I'm a computer engineer by trade, with a passion for mechanical engineering, and I think this thing just hit my nerd G spot
kaneshadow
pdok
Posted 11:13 AM 2/5/08
28 years from Diff 1 to Diff 2, I guess Moore's Law wasn't applicable...
pdok
MagnoliaBoy
Posted 11:12 AM 2/5/08
I love analogue computers, its interesting how there making a comeback.
MagnoliaBoy
Bokusatsu_Tenshi
Posted 11:56 AM 2/5/08
@--Tito--: They are working on it. The mechanical upgrades are the size of Jupiter, and will take 1000 years to be complete.
Bokusatsu_Tenshi
Satorical
Posted 4:58 PM 2/5/08
Great post. As for the comments, enough. with. the. steampunk.
Satorical
pradster
Posted 7:53 PM 2/5/08
astounding, beautiful!
pradster
Jesus_Jones
Posted 9:03 PM 2/5/08
I got love for you if you were born in the 1800s the 1800s
Jesus_Jones
stryder100
Posted 10:06 PM 2/5/08
"The Difference Engine" by Sterling and Gibson is a good read, creating a world where the computer age happened prior to the electrical age and the first computers were steam driven cybernetic engines. Much like this one I imagine.
stryder100
Sockatume
Posted 10:32 PM 2/5/08
That's good, it should mean the Science Museum can put their old back on display. They had taken over its section to set up the workshop for this newer copy.
Sockatume
bms
Posted 10:19 PM 2/5/08
And how many Megaflops is that?
bms
mikeness
Posted 2:20 AM 3/5/08
I think that Difference Engine is busted. No matter what I do it just keeps spitting out the number "42"
mikeness
Lorne
Posted 2:58 AM 3/5/08
Aaah. Just in time to work out our artillery bombardments of the Kaiser's armies.
Lorne
Marco
Posted 2:51 AM 3/5/08
I love it when rich guys spend their money on cool sh*t like this. It makes me want to be rich too.
Props to Nathan!
Marco
FreeMan
Posted 2:47 AM 3/5/08
@mikeness: +1!
FreeMan
arekkusu82
Posted 7:23 AM 3/5/08
Giz, we demand this flv player of yours to have a "full screen" button. Yes, we do.
arekkusu82