difference engine - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about difference engine Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,751,067,857 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

difference engine

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.02 sec.

difference engine

Mechanical calculating machine designed (and partly built in 1822) by the English mathematician Charles Babbage to produce reliable tables of life expectancy. A precursor of the analytical engine, it was to calculate mathematical functions by solving the differences between values given to variables within equations. Babbage designed the calculator so that once the initial values for the variables were set it would produce the next few thousand values without error.



How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
 Email
Feedback
?Sign in SSL protected
Email:
Password:
Register

? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
When 19th-century mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage worked on his Difference Engine and Analytical Engine, he probably didn't envisage his work as a precursor of 21st-century computer systems that would transform how families, businesses, and governments work.
Undignified science: well-intentioned research often takes unseemly ... by Bower, Bruce / Science News
But when he attributes the idea for something like Charles Babbage's Difference Engine, a mechanical ancestor of the modern computer, to the Turk's influence on young Babbage's mind, it smacks of ill-considered authorial postulate rather than credible research.
The Turk: The Life and Times of the Famous Eighteenth-Century Chess ... by Peters, Justin / Washington Monthly
Composed with references to all sorts of machines (Charles Babbage's difference engine, for one), it operates via a system of slide valves that open and close, transferring steam to an arrangement of eighty-six brass 1935 Buick car horns, each tuned to a different note.
CITY LIGHT by SIEGEL, KATY / Artforum International
More results
 
Hutchinson browser? ? Full browser
 
Difference between a layer 3 switch and a router
Difference between BSD and GPL licenses
Difference between BSD and GPL licensing
Difference between D&D 3e and 3.5e
Difference between gauge and absolute pressure
Difference between hard goods, soft goods, and dry goods
Difference between Merger and Acquisition
Difference between mergers and acquisitions
Difference between music and noise
Difference between orbital and sub-orbital spaceflights
Difference between orbital and suborbital spaceflights
Difference between portal vein and systemic vein
Difference between portal vein and systemic vein
Difference between portal vein and systemic vein
Difference between sets
Difference between sets
Difference between suborbital and orbital spaceflights
Difference Bounds Matrix
difference channel
Difference check
Différence de Potentiel
Difference density map
difference detector
difference encoding
difference engine
Difference equation
Difference equation
Difference equations
Difference equations
Difference feminism
Difference feminist
Difference Frequency
Difference Frequency Generation
Difference from S&P
Difference gel electrophoresis
Difference hierarchy
Difference Image Analysis
Difference in Conditions
difference in depth modulation
Difference in Depth of Modulation
Difference in differences
Difference in electric potential
Difference in electric potential
Difference in electric potential
Difference in electrical potential
Difference in electrical potential
Difference in electrical potential
Difference In Pay
Difference in the Depth of Modulation
 
Hutchinson Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.