Difference Engine
Basics
- Official Name: Difference Engine
- Inventor: Charles Babbage
- Affiliation: Charles Babbage
- Location of Creation: London, England
- Date of Creation: Designed in the 1820s
- Physical Characteristics: A mechanical calculating machine designed to compute polynomial functions. It consists of a number of columns, each of which represents a digit of the answer.
Snapshot
In its intended full form, the Difference Engine would have been a massive construction of metal gears and levers, with large handles for operation. Its various sections interlocked and revolved, creating a rhythmic dance of machinery as numbers were calculated and results displayed.
History
Charles Babbage, an English polymath, designed the Difference Engine in the 1820s with the aim of eliminating human error in the production of mathematical tables. The project was funded by the British government, which recognized its potential use for navigational calculations.
However, despite its innovative design and potential utility, the Difference Engine was never fully built in Babbage's lifetime due to a combination of funding issues, disagreements with the engineer in charge of building the device, and Babbage's own perfectionism.
Nonetheless, Babbage's concept of a mechanical device capable of handling complex calculations was revolutionary. It helped pave the way for his subsequent design of the Analytical Engine and set the stage for the development of modern computing technology.
Abilities
The Difference Engine was designed to compute polynomial functions using the method of finite differences, a mathematical technique that reduces complex calculations to simpler, linear calculations. This would have allowed for the accurate and automatic production of complex mathematical tables.
Hindrances
The major hindrance in the creation of the Difference Engine was a combination of lack of sustained funding, disagreements with Joseph Clement, the engineer assigned to build the machine, and Babbage's own relentless pursuit of perfection and redesigns.
Components
The Difference Engine's design called for an assembly of precisely engineered gears, cogs, and handles. Numbers would be entered using a series of dials and the machine would calculate and display the results.
Significance
Although never fully completed, the Difference Engine's design marked a significant step in the evolution of mechanical computation. It embodied the principles of automatic calculation and demonstrated the feasibility of using machines to handle mathematical operations.
Appearances
- The Difference Engine is featured in William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's alternate history novel, "The Difference Engine," where it is portrayed as having been successfully built.
- It also appears in Sydney Padua's graphic novel, "The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage."
Related
- Collaborators: None
- Image Gallery: Link to Image Gallery
- Related Entries: Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Analytical Engine
Notes
- The Difference Engine No. 2, a later and more simplified design by Babbage, was successfully built in 1991 by the Science Museum in London, over a century after Babbage's death, proving the machine's design was sound and fully functional.
References
- "The Difference Engine: Charles Babbage and the Quest to Build the First Computer" by Doron Swade.
- "Charles Babbage: Pioneer of the Computer" by Anthony Hyman.
- "The Cogwheel Brain: Charles Babbage and the Quest to Build the First Computer" by Doron Swade.
