Charles Babbage
28 September, 2013
Charles Babbage Technology within the past couple of years has grown so rapidly that it is often hard to keep up with. The computer industry is thriving and advancing more and more each year. Even though this industry is just starting out, its products are in such high demand that the fast advancement of technology is necessary. Surprisingly, however, it took the industry a second invention and over one hundred years before the power of computers was finally acknowledged. Even though the first computers were built starting in the mid-1900s, the first idea for a computer was actually developed starting in 1837. Charles Babbage, born to a well-off family in 1791, was the mind behind the idea, and is famous for his work developing plans for two different computers. His first, the Difference Engine, was to some extent completed in the early 1830s, but not the way he planned. The Analytical Engine, his second and more complicated design was never completed at all, but both had the probability of being very powerful, especially for that era (Bellis). Charles Babbage developed the analytical engine project after an earlier computing project, the difference engine, which he started in 1822. The difference engine could solve polynomial equations using a numerical method called the "method of differences" (Bellis). However, the analytical engine was the first general computational device, with the ability to solve different types of equations. Being mechanical rather than electrical, the analytical engine worked by a series of gears and levers. Charles Babbage started building his analytical engine in 1833 and continued to work on the machine until the day he died. Charles Babbage 's objective for inventing the difference engine and analytical engine was the desire to create absolutely accurate mathematical tables. Despite the fact that it was slow, the difference engine was designed to be a calculator. It prepared numerical tables using a
Charles Babbage Technology within the past couple of years has grown so rapidly that it is often hard to keep up with. The computer industry is thriving and advancing more and more each year. Even though this industry is just starting out, its products are in such high demand that the fast advancement of technology is necessary. Surprisingly, however, it took the industry a second invention and over one hundred years before the power of computers was finally acknowledged. Even though the first computers were built starting in the mid-1900s, the first idea for a computer was actually developed starting in 1837. Charles Babbage, born to a well-off family in 1791, was the mind behind the idea, and is famous for his work developing plans for two different computers. His first, the Difference Engine, was to some extent completed in the early 1830s, but not the way he planned. The Analytical Engine, his second and more complicated design was never completed at all, but both had the probability of being very powerful, especially for that era (Bellis). Charles Babbage developed the analytical engine project after an earlier computing project, the difference engine, which he started in 1822. The difference engine could solve polynomial equations using a numerical method called the "method of differences" (Bellis). However, the analytical engine was the first general computational device, with the ability to solve different types of equations. Being mechanical rather than electrical, the analytical engine worked by a series of gears and levers. Charles Babbage started building his analytical engine in 1833 and continued to work on the machine until the day he died. Charles Babbage 's objective for inventing the difference engine and analytical engine was the desire to create absolutely accurate mathematical tables. Despite the fact that it was slow, the difference engine was designed to be a calculator. It prepared numerical tables using a
Cited: Bellis, Mary. About: Inventors Guide. 2012. 2012 . Hyman, Anthony. Charles Babbage: Pioneer of the Computer. Princeton University Press, 1985. Park, Edwards. Smithsonian Mag. Feb 1996. . Swade, Doron. The Cogwheel Brain: Charles Babbage and the Quest to Build the First Computer. Abacus, 2001.