|
Difference Engine
A difference engine is an automatic mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions. It was designed in the 1820s, and was created by Charles Babbage. The name ''difference engine'' is derived from the method of finite differences, a way to interpolate or tabulate functions by using a small set of polynomial co-efficients. Some of the most common mathematical functions used in engineering, science and navigation are built from logarithmic and trigonometric functions, which can be approximated by polynomials, so a difference engine can compute many useful tables. History The notion of a mechanical calculator for mathematical functions can be traced back to the Antikythera mechanism of the 2nd century BC, while early modern examples are attributed to Pascal and Leibniz in the 17th century. In 1784 J. H. Müller, an engineer in the Hessian army, devised and built an adding machine and described the basic principles of a difference machine in a book pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babbage Difference Engine
Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered by some to be " father of the computer". He is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer, the difference engine, that eventually led to more complex electronic designs, though all the essential ideas of modern computers are to be found in his analytical engine, programmed using a principle openly borrowed from the Jacquard loom. As part of his computer work, he also designed the first computer printers. He had a broad range of interests in addition to his work on computers covered in his 1832 book ''Economy of Manufactures and Machinery''. He was an important figure in the social scene in London, and is credited with importing the "scientific soirée" from France with his well-attended Saturday evening soirées. His varied w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its headquarters are in Burlington House, on Piccadilly in London. The society has over 4,000 members, known as fellows, most of whom are professional researchers or postgraduate students. Around a quarter of Fellows live outside the UK. The society holds monthly scientific meetings in London, and the annual National Astronomy Meeting at varying locations in the British Isles. The RAS publishes the scientific journals ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'', ''Geophysical Journal International'' and ''RAS Techniques and Instruments'', along with the trade magazine ''Astronomy & Geophysics''. The RAS maintains an astronomy research library, engages in public outreach and advises the UK government on astronomy education. The socie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Wiberg
Martin Wiberg (4 September 1826 – 29 December 1905) was a Swedish inventor. He enrolled at Lund University in 1845 and became a Doctor of Philosophy in 1850. He is known as a computer pioneer for his c. 1859 (1857-1860) invention of a machine the size of a sewing machine that could print logarithmic tables (first interest tables appeared in 1860, logarithmic in 1875). The logarithmic tables were subsequently published in English, French and German in 1876. The device was investigated by the French academy of science which also wrote an extensive report on it in 1863. The device was inspired by the similar work done by Per Georg Scheutz (had the same capacity: 15-digit numbers and fourth-order differences) and has similarities with Charles Babbage's difference engine. (Scheutz machine was based on the difference engine). The device is preserved at Tekniska museet (The Technical Museum) of Sweden in Stockholm. Wiberg failed to sell his machine, and also failed to sell the outp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldest city in New York, and the county seat of and most populous city in Albany County, New York, Albany County. Albany's population was 99,224 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 101,228 in 2023. The city is the economic and cultural core of New York State's Capital District (New York), Capital District, a metropolitan area including the nearby cities and suburbs of Colonie, New York, Colonie, Troy, New York, Troy, Schenectady, New York, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs. With a population of 1.23 million in 2020, the Capital District is the third-most populous metropolitan region in the state. The Hudson River area was originally inhabited by Algonquian languages, Algonquian-speaking Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dudley Observatory
Dudley Observatory is an astronomical education non-profit located since 2019 in Loudonville, New York and is the oldest non-academic institution of astronomical research in America. It was formerly located in Albany, New York (1856–1973) and Schenectady (1973–2019) and was once a working observatory. History The Observatory was chartered on February 11, 1852 by the New York State Senate, and by the New York State Assembly on April 3, 1852. It was named for Charles E. Dudley of Albany, a former United States Senator and member of the Albany Regency. Dudley lived in New York State, died in 1841, and his widow Blandina Bleeker Dudley endowed the Dudley Observatory after his death. Dudley Observatory has operated from at least six separate sites since its founding. Goat Hill (1856–1893) The first location of the observatory was on a rise to the north-east of downtown Albany that was locally known as "Goat Hill". Today, that location is the approximate location of Arbor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exposition Universelle (1855)
The of 1855 (), better known in English as the 1855 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France, from 15 May to 15 November 1855. Its full official title was the . It was the first of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. Nowadays, the exposition's sole physical remnant is the Théâtre du Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, designed by architect Gabriel Davioud, which originally housed the Panorama National. History The exposition was a major event in France, then newly under the reign of Emperor Napoleon III. It followed London's Great Exhibition of 1851 and attempted to surpass that fair's Crystal Palace with its own Palais de l'Industrie. The arts displayed were shown in a separate pavilion on Avenue Montaigne. There were works from artists from 29 countries, including French artists François Rude, Ingres, Delacroix and Henri Lehmann, and British artists William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais. How ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Per Georg Scheutz
Pehr (Per) Georg Scheutz (23 September 1785 – 22 May 1873) was a Swedish lawyer, translator, and inventor, who is now best known for his pioneering work in computer technology. Life Scheutz studied law at Lund University, graduating in 1805. He then worked as a legal expert and translator (he translated several works of William Shakespeare and Sir Walter Scott) before turning predominantly to liberal politics and mechanical engineering. He is most known for his inventions; the best known of these is the Scheutzian calculation engine, invented in 1837 and finalized in 1843. This machine, which he constructed with his son Edvard Scheutz, was based on Charles Babbage's difference engine. In 1851 they obtained funds from government to build an improved model, which was created in 1853 (was roughly the size of a piano), and subsequently demonstrated at the World's Fair in Paris, 1855. The machine was then sold in 1856 to the Dudley Observatory in Albany, New York. In 1857 Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Difference Engine Scheutz
Difference commonly refers to: * Difference (philosophy), the set of properties by which items are distinguished * Difference (mathematics), the result of a subtraction Difference, The Difference, Differences or Differently may also refer to: Music * ''Difference'' (album), by Dreamtale, 2005 * ''The Difference'' (album), Pendleton, 2008 * "The Difference" (The Wallflowers song), 1997 * "Differences" (song), by Ginuwine, 2001 * ''Differently'' (album), by Cassie Davis, 2009 ** "Differently" (song), by Cassie Davis, 2009 * "Difference", a song by Benjamin Clementine from the 2022 album ''And I Have Been'' * "The Difference", a song by Matchbox Twenty from the 2002 album ''More Than You Think You Are'' * "The Difference", a song by Westlife from the 2009 album ''Where We Are'' * "The Difference", a song by Nick Jonas from the 2016 album '' Last Year Was Complicated'' * "The Difference", a song by Meek Mill featuring Quavo, from the 2016 mixtape '' DC4'' * "The Difference", a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the railways in the late 19th century and the opening (and shutting) and naming of local tube stations. The area has many museums and cultural landmarks with a high number of visitors, such as the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Adjacent affluent centres such as Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Kensington, have been considered as some of the most exclusive real estate in the world. History Following the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, an area, west of what is now Exhibition Road, was purchased by the commissioners of the exhibition, in order to create a base for institutions dedicated to the arts and sciences, leading to the foundation of the Royal Albert Hall, three museums, the Royal School ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1862 International Exhibition
The International Exhibition of 1862, officially the London International Exhibition of Industry and Art, also known as the Great London Exposition, was a world's fair held from 1 May to 1 November 1862 in South Kensington, London, England. The site now houses museums including the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum and the Science Museum (London), Science Museum. Background and overview After the Great Exhibition, held in 1851, had proven to be a huge success, the British Government planned another world's fair, international exhibition that would surpass both this one and the 1855 Paris Exposition, larger in both size and scale. The intention was to showcase the advances which had since been made in industry, technology, and arts. It was intended to be held in 1861, but was delayed owing to various international events, including the Italian War of Independence and American Civil War (which caused a shortage of cotton, among other things). The exposition, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ada Lovelace
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (''née'' Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852), also known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation. Lovelace was the only legitimate child of poet Lord Byron and reformer Anne Isabella Milbanke. All her half-siblings, Lord Byron#Children, Lord Byron's other children, were born out of wedlock to other women. Lord Byron separated from his wife a month after Ada was born and left England forever. He died in Greece when she was eight. Lady Byron was anxious about her daughter's upbringing and promoted Lovelace's interest in mathematics and logic in an effort to prevent her from developing her father's perceived insanity. Despite this, Lovelace remained interested in her father, naming her two sons Byron King-Noel, V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
