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From: paj@mrcu (Paul Johnson)
Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.misc
Subject: Re: Pneumatic computers (yes, air-pressure powered)
Message-ID: <959@snap.mrcu>
Date: 11 Jun 91 07:52:02 GMT
References: <1991May24.231620.15367@digi.lonestar.org> <_1KBHZB@xds13.ferranti.com> <1991Jun7.202331.19282@cbfsb.att.com>
Reply-To: paj@uk.co.gec-mrc (Paul Johnson)
Organization: GEC-Marconi Research Centre, Great Baddow, UK
Lines: 24

>In article <_1KBHZB@xds13.ferranti.com> peter@ficc.ferranti.com (peter da silva) writes:
>>In article <1991May24.231620.15367@digi.lonestar.org>, crichmon@digi.lonestar.org (Charles Richmond) writes:
>>> Fifteen or so years ago I heard that in the '60's there were
>>> computers constructed that ran from air pressure.
[....]
>	Go to library and look under topic "Fluid Logic".  [....]


If you are ever in Paris, visit the Musee' Cite' (or something like
that).  It is the Paris museum of science and technology.  One of the
exhibits is this truly amazing 4 bit adder constructed of tubes and
siphons with water feeding through them under gravity.  You punch in
two 4 bit numbers on a control panel and hit the GO button.  Valves
open and close at the top, the whole thing bubbles and gurgles for
about 30 seconds, and tubes shaped as 1's and 0's fill up at the
bottom with the Answer (not 42).

Paul.


-- 
Paul Johnson |            Isn't modern education wonderful: one size fits all!
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