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Watch a 120-year-old 'Millionaire' machine do some astounding


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https://youtu.be/wwh0KH-ICCw

 

Long before transistors and other electronics came along, calculators were large mechanical machines that performed mathematics through a series of gears and cylinders turning inside their boxy exteriors. The YouTube channel called the Numberphile got its hands on one such device called the "Millionaire," and released a video Tuesday showing how it works.

 

While Frenchman Blaise Pascal is often credited with creating the first mechanical calculator in 1642, it was, in fact, German professor Wilhelm Schickard who first invented an automatic adding machine in 1623. Like all gadgets throughout history, the mechanical calculator got better and better at what it did over time. The Millionaire machine is one stop along the way to calculators that eventually fit on our wrists and now take up no space at all on computer desktops everywhere.

 

The machine was invented by Swiss engineer Otto Steiger and patented and marketed by Zurich's Hans Egli company in 1895. According to the IBM archives, 2,000 of the machines were in use in the early 1900s, with the last one sold in 1935. There were a total of 4,655 Millionaires sold......

http://www.cnet.com/...l-calculations/

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Guest LilBambi

What about the:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule

 

... which is still in use by some today? ;)

 

The slide rule, also known colloquially in the United States as a slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer. The slide rule is used primarily for multiplication and division, and also for functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry, but is not normally used for addition or subtraction. Though similar in name and appearance to a standard ruler, the slide rule is not ordinarily used for measuring length or drawing straight lines.

 

Slide rules exist in a diverse range of styles and generally appear in a linear or circular form with a standardized set of markings (scales) essential to performing mathematical computations. Slide rules manufactured for specialized fields such as aviation or finance typically feature additional scales that aid in calculations common to those fields.

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I used to watch the structural engineers using slide rules in an engineering company I worked for many years ago. In tandem with the structural engineers, my boss had just written a program in-house to calculate loads/stresses for columns/beams for projects. One of the older engineers insisted on designing a large project manually with slide rules. There turned out to be a flaw in the design that cost $250,000 to fix later (quite a sum in 1971). As I recall, my boss was able to show that it wouldn't have occurred if the output from his program had been used--lead structural engineer retired soon after.

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V.T. Eric Layton

I used to watch the structural engineers using slide rules in an engineering company I worked for many years ago. In tandem with the structural engineers, my boss had just written a program in-house to calculate loads/stresses for columns/beams for projects. One of the older engineers insisted on designing a large project manually with slide rules. There turned out to be a flaw in the design that cost $250,000 to fix later (quite a sum in 1971). As I recall, my boss was able to show that it wouldn't have occurred if the output from his program had been used--lead structural engineer retired soon after.

 

Sometimes, old hands get stuck in a rut and are afraid of anything new that comes their way. In the electronics service industry, I saw this quite often where older technicians just flat refused to utilize new methods to troubleshoot or repair equipment. They wanted to stick to their old ways. I've been guilty of that myself a few times, actually. The older I get, the more I yearn for those simpler times when...

 

 

:clap2:

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The first job I had at 14 was as a filing clerk. For Lister ltd. There were about 30 comptometer operators in the accounts room . All the machines were mechanical... The noise in there was truly deafening . Yet those ladies put in a full 8 hour day and 4 hrs on Sat. Now when I look back each and every one of them were heroes.

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