Go offline with the Player FM app!
Episode 86 - Fluidic Computing
Manage episode 334011959 series 2527547
What is a computer? A miserable pile of electrons!
But... not necessarily. I have yet to find a fully satisfying definition for "computer" that encompasses the full grandeur of calculating machines. This episode we are further complicating that quest by adding fluid based computers to the mix. We will be looking at 3 machines that crunched numbers using nothing but fluids and tubes. There's actually a rich tradition of fluidics to talk about.
Selected sources:
https://archive.org/details/electronicbrains0000hall/page/186/mode/2up - Electronic Brains chapter on MONIAC
https://archive.org/details/ACFELANALYTICALSTUDIESOFFREEZINGANDTHAWINGSOILS1953/LUKYANOV%20-%20Hydraulic%20Apparatus%20for%20Engineering%20Computations%20%281955%29/ - Translated paper on the water integrator
https://www.gwern.net/docs/cs/computable/1964-gluskin.pdf - FLODAC!
144 episodes
Manage episode 334011959 series 2527547
What is a computer? A miserable pile of electrons!
But... not necessarily. I have yet to find a fully satisfying definition for "computer" that encompasses the full grandeur of calculating machines. This episode we are further complicating that quest by adding fluid based computers to the mix. We will be looking at 3 machines that crunched numbers using nothing but fluids and tubes. There's actually a rich tradition of fluidics to talk about.
Selected sources:
https://archive.org/details/electronicbrains0000hall/page/186/mode/2up - Electronic Brains chapter on MONIAC
https://archive.org/details/ACFELANALYTICALSTUDIESOFFREEZINGANDTHAWINGSOILS1953/LUKYANOV%20-%20Hydraulic%20Apparatus%20for%20Engineering%20Computations%20%281955%29/ - Translated paper on the water integrator
https://www.gwern.net/docs/cs/computable/1964-gluskin.pdf - FLODAC!
144 episodes
All episodes
×Welcome to Player FM!
Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.