The Measure of All Things: Ruminations on What Might Have Been
Senior Editor Alex Braun tells the tale of the Difference Engines No. 2, designed by Charles Babbage, which was designed to revolutionize calculations by mechanizing them. Babbage didn't live to see the machine built, but there are two such machines in existence today. "I stood in silent, stunned admiration before the glorious array of 8000 dazzling bright gears, cams and assorted parts harmoniously working together in a formidable 5 T frame, 11 ft long and 7 ft high. When one of the docents turned the crank and operated it, its various components — made of brass, iron and steel — seemed to spin in three-quarter time, closely engaged in an elegant mathematical waltz." Check out the fascinating video.