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Is there any physical analogue of this type of thing, perhaps in some computing museum? Some kind of giant mechanical CPU that I can walk inside of and inspect

by cing 16y ago

Is there any physical analogue of this type of thing, perhaps in some computing museum? Some kind of giant mechanical CPU that I can walk inside of and inspect the registers and logic gates as computations are being performed?

willyt 16y ago
Not quite the same, but there is a working replica of Babbage's difference engine N.o.2 in the science museum in London. You can walk round it and see how it works. I think they run it for a few minutes at set times during the day. http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects/computing_and_data_processing/1992-556.aspx http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects/computing_and_data_p...
stuhacking 16y ago
The earth? context: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_in_The_Hitchhikers_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Earth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_in_The_Hitchhikers_Guide...
camtarn 16y ago
People have built LEGO logic gates: http://goldfish.ikaruga.co.uk/logic.html http://goldfish.ikaruga.co.uk/logic.html Unfortunately, a quick Google doesn't turn up any LEGO ALU or CPU implementations. I wouldn't be surprised if the amount of energy required to operate any non-trivial digital circuit would be too much for the LEGO gates to handle. It might be possible to simply upgrade the LEGO gates to metal components. This paper begins with a brief introduction to mechanical logic: http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/mechano.html http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/mechano.html As somebody else mentioned, there are the Babbage engines - I saw the Difference Engine replica in the Science Museum in London a couple of years back, and it is truly a thing of wonder. And of course you could just use electromechanical relays, put LEDs on each signalling line, and run the whole thing sufficiently slowly to allow computation to be observed in all its rattling, clicking glory. I reckon a working relay computer spread out on a large piece of plastic with labels of all the parts would be a pretty awesome museum exhibit :)
eru 16y ago
They have some working parts (or a whole?) Zuse Z2 electro-mechanical computer in the Berliner Technik Museum. Konrad Zuse built the world's first functional program-controlled Turing-complete computer. He also designed the first high-level programming language.

by cing 16y ago

willyt 16y ago

Not quite the same, but there is a working replica of Babbage's difference engine N.o.2 in the science museum in London. You can walk round it and see how it works. I think they run it for a few minutes at set times during the day. http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects/computing_and_data_processing/1992-556.aspx http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects/computing_and_data_p...

stuhacking 16y ago

The earth? context: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_in_The_Hitchhikers_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Earth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_in_The_Hitchhikers_Guide...

camtarn 16y ago

People have built LEGO logic gates: http://goldfish.ikaruga.co.uk/logic.html http://goldfish.ikaruga.co.uk/logic.html Unfortunately, a quick Google doesn't turn up any LEGO ALU or CPU implementations. I wouldn't be surprised if the amount of energy required to operate any non-trivial digital circuit would be too much for the LEGO gates to handle. It might be possible to simply upgrade the LEGO gates to metal components. This paper begins with a brief introduction to mechanical logic: http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/mechano.html http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/mechano.html As somebody else mentioned, there are the Babbage engines - I saw the Difference Engine replica in the Science Museum in London a couple of years back, and it is truly a thing of wonder. And of course you could just use electromechanical relays, put LEDs on each signalling line, and run the whole thing sufficiently slowly to allow computation to be observed in all its rattling, clicking glory. I reckon a working relay computer spread out on a large piece of plastic with labels of all the parts would be a pretty awesome museum exhibit :)

eru 16y ago

They have some working parts (or a whole?) Zuse Z2 electro-mechanical computer in the Berliner Technik Museum. Konrad Zuse built the world's first functional program-controlled Turing-complete computer. He also designed the first high-level programming language.