difference engine
Mechanical computation pioneer
A difference engine is a mechanical calculator designed to compute polynomial functions by the method of finite differences.
Charles Babbage designed one in the 1820s, though it was never completed in his lifetime.
The machine was a precursor to modern computers, using gears and cranks to automate mathematical tables.
Babbage's difference engine inspired later computing pioneers.
Mechanical computer originator
- 19th centuryThe eighteen hundreds
- industrial revolutionRapid economic mechanization period
- punched cardsHole-encoded data rectangles
- predecessorOne who came first
Ada Lovelace · mechanization · census · Victorian · steampunk · brass · mahogany · London
Expression with variable terms
- logarithmExponent-determining mathematical operation
- tablesFlat-topped furniture pieces
- numericalRelating to figures
- computationMathematical processing work
astronomical tables · interpolation · error-free · automatic · decimal places · actuarial · trigonometric · accuracy
Able to accept instructions
- computerElectronic calculating device
- automationSelf-operating system design
- information agePeriod defined by data access
- precursorSomething that comes first
innovation · pioneering · visionary · ahead of its time · unfinished · funding · government · cost overruns
Babbage
Mechanical computer originator
- 19th centuryThe eighteen hundreds
- industrial revolutionRapid economic mechanization period
- punched cardsHole-encoded data rectangles
Ada Lovelace · predecessor · mechanization · census · Victorian · steampunk · brass · mahogany · London · blueprint
polynomial
Expression with variable terms
- logarithmExponent-determining mathematical operation
- tablesFlat-topped furniture pieces
- numericalRelating to figures
computation · astronomical tables · interpolation · error-free · automatic · decimal places · actuarial · trigonometric · accuracy · tabulation
programmable
Able to accept instructions
- computerElectronic calculating device
- automationSelf-operating system design
- information agePeriod defined by data access
precursor · innovation · pioneering · visionary · ahead of its time · unfinished · funding · government · cost overruns · ambitious
gears
Toothed rotating machine parts
mechanism · wheels · columns · digits · registers · barrel · bronze · steel · tolerances · machining
difference enginedigital computer
Electronic device using binary logic
microprocessor · integrated circuit · ENIAC · quantum computer · smartphone
difference, engine, differ, different, differently, differing, differed, indifference, indifferent