Analog Computing Component - Integrator (Four-Inch Disc)

Analog Computing Component - Integrator (Four-Inch Disc)

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Description
Instruments for finding the area bounded by curved lines (integrators) date from the nineteenth century. This twentieth century example is based on a mechanism invented by British engineer James Thomson and used by his brother William (later Lord Kelvin) in constructing the first harmonic analyzer in 1876. The object shows modifications and refinements made by the American inventor Hannibal Ford. It consists of a mechanism of hardened steel held in a metal frame. A disc at the bottom is linked by two adjacent balls to a rotating shaft at the top – there is a gear at the end of the shaft. Each of the balls has four vertical rollers on it. Rotating a horizontal gear at the front rolls the carriage for the balls crosswise.
A mark etched into the front edge of the base of the frame reads: U.S. NO. 772.
Ford's integrators were used by the U. S. Navy in devices for aiming guns on ships. They continued in use after Ford Instrument was acquired by Sperry in 1955. The precise date of this integrator is not known, although it most probably is from after 1930.
Reference:
A.B. Clymer, "The Mechanical Analog Computers of Hannibal Ford and William Newell," Annals of the History of Computing, 15, #2, 1993, 19-34.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
analog computing component
date made
ca 1918-1955
maker
Ford Instrument Company
place made
United States: New York, Queens, Long Island City
Physical Description
aluminum (frame material)
steel (mechanism material)
Measurements
overall: 7.8 cm x 18.3 cm x 12.3 cm; 3 1/16 in x 7 7/32 in x 4 27/32 in
ID Number
1982.0751.07
catalog number
1982.0751.07
accession number
1982.0751
Credit Line
Ford Instrument Company, Division of Sperry Rand Corporation
subject
Mathematics
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Mechanical Integrators and Analyzers
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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