ITE 221 Morello Chapter 2 Babbage

In my last post, I wrote about keeping up with technology.  But sometimes, it is good to look back at where you came from. The Computer History Museum, in California, has some fascinating pages dedicated to Charles Babbage, the Difference Engines (both one and two) and the Analytical Engine. Neither of the Difference Engines, nor the Analytical Engine, was completed in his lifetime.  Difference Engine number one was started in 1821. It had approximately 25,000 parts and would have weighed 4 tons! Unfortunately, work was halted in 1833 after spending £17,500; enough to buy twenty-two steam engines. This was not inexpensive!  The sites give a full history of the Difference Engines and discuss a modern day working reproduction of Difference Engine number two. It also has the biographies of Babbage and those who worked with him.  You can view the tribute to the first computer pioneer, Charles Babbage at http://www.computerhistory.org/babbage .