Information revolution 2 (because 1st section was way too long) Flashcards
Why was the Scheutz machine not a breakthrough invention
It only saved on the work of the most highly skilled computers; typesetters did not get paid that much so the savings weren’t phenomenal
What discovery did Edison make that was relevant to computers?
While working on the light bulb, Edison discovered that if an evacuated bulb contained a filament and a metal plate, the current circulated through the filament would pass to the plate and be carried out of the bulb if the plate was attached to its own circuit
What was John Ambrose Fleming’s addition to Edison’s discovery?
If an alternating current was applied to the filament, a direct current would emerge from the plate. This was called a diode, since it held two electrodes
How did Lee de Forest improve on the diode
If a third element was added– a small conducting wire which fed its own current—the bulb would function as a very sensitive radio wave detective. this was a triode
How did Edwin H. Armstrong improve on the audion?
He discovered that if the current produced by the plate was fed back into the grid, the signal was greatly amplified. He then discovered it was possible to turn the vacuum tube into a transmitter.
By what year did vacuum tube technology start to dominate radio manufacturing?
1915
What tool did mathematicians. navigators, and artillerymen use for calculations through the 19th and 20th century?
Slide rules
Why were “slipsticks” impractical?
Could not be used to add or subtract straightforwardly and their precision was limited
What was the first pocket mechanical calculator?
The Curta model by Austrian businessman Curt Herzstark
How expansive was the Curta model?
$125 in 1969
When were modern electronic computers first invented?
During ww2
Vannevar Bush created which machine starting in 1925
The differential analyzer.
Was the working differential analyzer mechanical or electric?
purely mechanical
Why did the war accelerate computer development?
-Need precise calculaitions for code-breaking and development of the atom bomb
-Sense of urgency meant there was sufficient funding
The first electronic computers developed after ww2 used which technology?
Vacuum tubes
When was the ENIAC built?
1945-1946
What development started the development of the internet?
ARPA wished to connect the computing centres that it was funding across the United States in order to maximize their effectiveness
Who did ARPA contract to create ARPANET?
Academics, scientists, and the Massachusetts company Bolt, Beranek & Newman
The history of electronic computers may be divided into 3 historical phases based on which technology?
Vacuum Tubes
Solid State transistors
Microchips
When were the first video games made?
about the 1950s
What broad category of machines were included in the description “calculator?” What did they do?
From mechanical machines to business machines and cash registers. performed four basic operations; dependent on manual input
What are tabulating machines?
introduced by Hollerith in the late 19th century; encode data with punched cards; able to perform addition on large quantities of information
What are programmable machines?
Introduced by Babbage in the early 19th century; encode data and instructions with punched cards
In what ways was the government involved in the development of the computer?
UK Govt financed the initial computers in the 19th century; US GOV the initial customers of the tabulators. US Government sponsored electronic computers and computing after WW2
What was the line of descent for calculators
Blaise Pascal
Gottfried Leibniz
Charles X Thomas
William S. Burroughs
(Curt Herzstark)
What was the line of descent for programmable machines?
Charles Babbage
George Scheutz
Vannevar Bush
(John von Neumann)
Who made ENIAC?
John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert of the University of Pennsylvania
Who was Charles X Thomas inspired by?
Leibniz’s mechanical calculator
How did the Thomas arithmometer impact other countries?
Many imitators emerged trying to replicate the success
Who was a key maker of the arithmometer in the United States?
William S. Burroughs
What the company who sold William S. Burrough’s arithmometers?
American Arithmometer Company
What did Herman Hollerith’s machine use?
Punch cards
What was the tabulating machine first used for?
NY board of health and several other states for tabulating vital statistics
What kind of private companies were interested early on in vital statistics?
Insurance companies
What was Hollerith’s modification to his machine that made it even better for statistics?
He designed it to be able to sort data for one specific category (Farmers headed by women, for example). This allowed a much more in-depth analysis of specific variables
What two steps were part of the basic tabulator processr?
-Pantograph puncher to create holes in cardes
-Hand press of the tabulator to add to dials
Punch cards were used until when?
Sometimes as late as the 1980s
What could tabulators use apart from punched cards?
punched tape
True or false: cash registers are calculators
I believe it is true
Charles Babbage had exposure to mathematics from which sources?
He was the son of a banker and attended Cambridge where he tackled math problems with the younger Herschel (an astronomer)
The accumulated difference between the 1693 and previous survey of france amounted to war distance?
over 100 km between Paris and britanny
Which was more difficult to calculate, latitude or longitude? Why?
Longitude. You could use the sun’s position for latitude but longitude doesn’t have obvious references. It depended a lot on measuring time but that was not steady
How was Prony inspired by Adam smith for his survey of france?
Prony tried to replicate the division of labour in Adam Smith’s ideal pin factory (which itself came from the Encyclopedie), He divided the tasks of computing complex survey data among many people.
If navigators did not have good clocks, what could they use to determine their position?
Astronomical tables, which detailed the various positions of celestial bodies at different times
The eclipses of the moon of which planet were useful for navigation?
Jupiter
What parts of producing astronomy tables was prone to errors?
Calculation
Reading the hand-written calculaiton
Transcribing the calculation
How did Babbage’s difference engine fix the problems associated with astronomy tables?
It automatically calculated with a very low error rate and automatically printed the answer legibly
What were two consequences of Babbage’s work on the difference engine?
1) It stimulated the development of a working machine by George Scheutz, which helped lead to programmable machines
2) The design of the lathes and tool shapers for the difference engine stimulated the growth of the British Machine tool industry
Why did Babbage fail to build a second difference engine?
-Had a dispute with his machinist so he lost a lot of parts
-Government did not renew his funds
