Analogue Computers

• “Body temperature is an analogue signal.” ⤴️
• “On dividing a number by zero, a mechanical calculator behaves in a chaotic manner.” ⤴️
• “The waves produced during an earthquake are called seismic waves. Seismic waves are then recorded on the graph paper present in the setup, called a seismograph.” ⤴️
• “Voltage is an analogue signal because it varies constantly with respect to time. Therefore, analogue voltmeters can be regarded as analogue computers. A voltmeter is used to display the potential difference existing between two points of an electrical network.” ⤴️
• “Whenever a high tide is observed, the machine sends an alert. Water waves are analogue in nature, hence, tide predictors are analogue devices.” ⤴️
• “The electrical signal flowing through this network or circuit experiences variations in amplitude, frequency, phase, and other related properties. This change is used accordingly to generate the required result. Various examples of electronic analogue computers include spectrometer, oscilloscope, etc.” ⤴️
• “Mechanical Analog Computers, as the name suggests, make use of mechanical parts like gears, shafts, cams, etc. to perform the computations such as multiplication, division, etc.” ⤴️
• “Slide Rules was initially used for multiplication and division. A little later, it was found to be applicable in exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions as well.” ⤴️
• “Analogue, the word has been derived from the Greek word ‘analogos’, which means proportionate or ratio.” ⤴️
• “A tide-predicting machine or tide predictor is an ideal example of a mechanical analogue computer.” ⤴️
• “The Speed is pointed with the help of a needle that is allowed to deflect freely according to the analogue signal received by it. The speedometer cable is attached to the gear shaft on one end, and to a permanent magnet on the other end. This magnet is coupled to a metallic speed cup with no physical connection between them. The speed cup is connected to the indicator with the help of an inductor rod having a spring attached to it. The spinning outer shaft of the gearbox rotates the magnet. The magnetic field generated by the moving magnet attracts the metallic speed cup. This mechanical movement of the speed cup is used to deflect the needle.” ⤴️
• “Other mechanical computers may also use pneumatic and hydraulic theories.” ⤴️
• “The castle clock is an 11 feet high antique clock, that employed some of the complex concepts of mechanical engineering for its operation.” ⤴️
• “quartz crystal that is susceptible to the piezoelectric effect. The voltage provided by the battery, an analogue signal, allows the piezoelectric crystal to vibrate at a rate of exactly 32,768 vibrations per second. With the help of these vibrations, a pulse is generated, and one pulse is the time equivalent of one second. So, one second equals 32,768 vibrations of the piezoelectric crystal.” ⤴️
• “a flight simulator is used to create an illusion of all such problems during the training of a pilot. The simulator creates an exact replica of the real cockpit with use of hydraulic pumps, image generators, sound systems, motion actuators, etc. All such computing elements deal in real-life or analogue signals, which allows us to put flight simulators under the category of analogue computers.” ⤴️