An analog computer is a computation machine that uses physical phenomena, such as electrical, mechanical or hydraulic quantities behaving according to the mathematical principles of the problem at hand, to model that problem directly. This sets analog computing apart from digital computing, where a digital computer represents varying quantities symbolically, using discrete values of both time and amplitude, rather than through a continuously varying physical quantity.
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Origin YearMarks an early purpose-built analog calculating device; the Antikythera mechanism is far older but was not part of a continuous engineering tradition. Core ConcernUsing continuously varying physical quantities, such as electrical voltage or mechanical rotation, to model and solve a problem rather than representing it in discrete digital form. 1 Analog Computing
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Source Edmund Gunter (Wikipedia)
Source José García Santesmases (Wikipedia)
Source William Oughtred (Wikipedia)
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1. Wikipedia: Analog computers
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section, paragraph on the tide-predicting machine
the tide-predicting machine invented by Sir William Thomson in 1872 was of great utility to navigation in shallow waters.
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An analog computer or analogue computer is a type of computation machine (computer) that uses physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities behaving according to the mathematical principles in question (analog signals) to model the problem being solved.
View the Source Analog computing (Wikipedia)
In Group: Emerging and Non-Electronic Computing Substrates, lead sectionView the Source Edmund Gunter (Wikipedia)
Includes: Edmund Gunter, LeadQuote, Includes: Edmund Gunter, Lead
he invented the first successful analogue device which he developed to calculate logarithmic tangents.
William Oughtred (Wikipedia)
Includes: William Oughtred, LeadQuote, Includes: William Oughtred, Lead
Oughtred was the first known to use two such scales in separate rods sliding by one another to perform direct multiplication and division.
José García Santesmases (Wikipedia)
Includes: José García Santesmases, LeadQuote, Includes: José García Santesmases, Lead
He built the first analog computer and the first microprocessor made in Spain.
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