Theresearchprocessofthedifferentialanalyzer
In1930,Ph.D.V.BushfromMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologyandHarvardUniversity,withtheassistanceofsomeengineersandtechnicians,trial-producedadifferentialanalyzer.Prototypeofanalyzer.Thiscomputingdeviceisverydifferentfrommoderncomputers.Ithasnokeyboardandoccupiesanareaofabouttensofsquaremeters.Itlooksabitlikeabilliardtableandaprintingpress.Theanalyzerhashundredsofparallelsteelshafts,whichareplacedonametalcabinetframelikeatable.Eachmotorrotatestheseshaftsthroughgears,andtherotationoftheshaftsperformsnumericalsimulationcalculations.
Peoplewhohavevisitedtheanalyzersaidthattheoperatorshould"holdawrenchinonehandandagearintheotherhand."Thatis,theusermustholdascrewdriverandahammertoprogramtheanalyzer.Aftertrial-producedthefirstprototype,Bushusedelectroniccomponentstoreplacecertainmechanicalparts.Butingeneralitisstillamechanicalcomputingdevice,itis"RockefellerDifferentialAnalyzerNo.2".InWorldWarII,theUSmilitaryuseditextensivelytocalculateballisticshootingtables.
Differentialanalyzer(2photos)
Theappearanceofelectronicanalogcomputersandlaterdigitalelectroniccomputersmademechanicalanalogcomputingdevicescompletelyuseless.TheanalyzerdevelopedbyBushwaslatercollectedbytheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologyandtheLondonScienceMuseum.IntroductionofVanNevaBush
VanNevaBush(3photos)
In1913,ProfessorVanNevaBushofMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology,USA(V·Bush)ledthemanufactureoftheanalogcomputer"differentialanalyzer".Themachineisdrivenbyaseriesofmotorsandusestheangleofgearrotationtosimulatethecalculationresults.VannevarBush,ascientist,educator,andgovernmentofficialwith6differentdegreesisinextricablylinkedtomanyfamouseventsofthiscentury,includingthe"ManhattanProject.",SiliconValley,theInternet,etc.Turningtheclockoftheinformationage,nomatterwhereyoulookatthehistoryofinformationtechnology,VanNevaBushisaforesightedpioneerwhohasleftfootprintsthere.JustlikethehistorianMichaelAccordingtoMichaelSherry,"TounderstandtheworldofBillGatesandBillClinton,youmustfirstknowVanNevaBush."ItispreciselybecauseofhismultifacetedcontributionsinthefieldofinformationtechnologyandsuperhumanvisionthatVannevaBushwonthereputationof"thegodfatheroftheinformationage."
Bush’slifeandMassachusetts(alsoreferringtoMassachusetts)StateandMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology).HewasborninEverett,MassachusettsinMarch1890.Aftercontributinghislifetoscienceandeducation,Bushin1974HediedinBelmont,MassachusettsinJune.From1919until1971,BushworkedandtaughtatthefamousMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT)foralongtime.Since1930,hehasbeenaprofessorofelectronicengineeringatMIT.Bushandaresearchteamsetouttodesigna"differentialanalysismachine"capableofsolvingdifferentialequations,creatingtheworld'sfirstanalogelectroniccomputer.ThispioneeringworkclearedthewayforthebirthofdigitalcomputersafterWorldWarII.1940sIntheearlydays,asPresidentRoosevelt’sscientificadviser,VanNevaBushorganizedandledthefamous"ManhattanProject"thatproducedthefirstatomicbomb.Later,heparticipatedintheinventionofthehydrogenbomb,theflighttothemoon,andthe"StarWars"TheNationalScienceFoundation(NSF)andAdvancedResearchProjectsAgency(ARPA)andotherscientificresearchinstitutionsapprovedbytheUSgovernmentbasedonBush’ssuggestionsandideashaveensuredtheUnitedStates’long-termleadingpositioninthecutting-edgetechnologyfield..
Inthefieldofinformationindustry,VanNevaBushhasmadeoutstandingcontributions.Twowell-knownhigh-techindustrialparksintheUnitedStates-California’s"SiliconValley"andBostonHighway128’s"High-techThebirthofthe"corridor"hascondensedBush’sefforts.FrederickTerman,whoisknownasthe"FatherofSiliconValley",obtainedadoctoratedegreeinelectronicsatMIT.Bushisnotsomeoneelse.TheHewlett-Packardcompanywasbornin1939.Man’svictorywasalsoBush’svictory.Sincethen,VannevarBush’snamehasforgedanindissolublebondwithSiliconValley.
In1945,VannevarBushpublishedanarticleintheJulyissueof"AtlanticMonthly"Anarticlefor"AsWeMayThink".ThearticledescribesamachinecalledMEMEX,whichalreadyhastoday'shypertextandhyperconnectivityconcepts.HeisthereforecalledtheInternetProphet.
MEMEX:ThemachinesdescribedinVannevarBush'sbook"AsWeMayThink",quotedbelow.
Futurecomputerswilluseelectricity.Theywillbeahundredtimesfasterthantoday'smachinesorevenmore.Therepetitivethinkingprocessisnotlimitedtocalculationsandstatistics.Infact,commercialaffairsandtheever-expandingmarketarewaitingfortheadventofmass-manufacturedcomputers,someofwhichwillbeabletomeetthemostdemandingrequirementsofcurrentcivilization.
Considerthedeviceforpersonaluseinthefuture.Itwillbeamechanizedpersonallibrary.Itneedsanametoattractpeople’sattention:"MEMEX"can.MEMEXissuchamechanizeddeviceinwhichpeoplecanstorebooks,recordsandletters,andatthesametimecancompleteretrievalatahighspeedandgreatflexibility.Asanauxiliarydevice,itistheinfiniteexpansionofthehumanbrain.
MEMEXhasaslantedtranslucentscreenonwhichdatacanbeprojectedforreading,aswellasakeyboard,aseriesofbuttonsandhandles.
Oneendofitisthestoragematerial,andthevolumeproblemissolvedverywellduetotheimprovedmicrofilm.
MostofthecontentsofMEMEXaredirectlypurchasedandcanbeinserteddirectly.
Allkindsofbooks,pictures,periodicals,newspaperscanbeobtainedinthiswayandinsertedforreading,andbusinesslettersarealsoavailable,andthereisalsoadirectinputdevice.
Ofcourse,therearealsorecordsforconsultation,whichcomefromdailyindexingwork.Iftheuserwantstofindinformationfromabook,heonlyneedstotapthecodeofthebookonthekeyboard,andthecoverofthebookwillbeprojectedontothebrowserinfrontofhimimmediately.Inaddition,hehasanadditional"cursor"thatcanbeused.Dragthecursortotheright,andthebookwillbeprojectedpagebypageinfrontofhim,ataspeedthatallowspeopletobrowseeachpageclearly.Pullittotherightagain,andthebrowsingspeedcanbecome10pagesatatime,andthenitwillbe100pagesatatime.Thereisalsoakeythatallowstheusertogodirectlytothefirstpageoftheindex.
Ifthereisamoredirectmethodforretrieval,itwillbemuchmoreconvenienttoperformcontactindexing.ThisisthebasicconceptofMEMEX:parallelretrievaloftwoconditionsisanimportantrequirement.Whenausercreatesatrack,hemustspecifyaname,insertitintohiscodebook,andcallituponthekeyboard.
Inthisway,wheneveroneoftheseitemsisdisplayed,therelateditemcanbecalledup.
Completelynewencyclopediaswillalsoappear,withinterconnected"trajectories"runningthroughthem.Patentattorneyscaneasilyfindthousandsofissuedpatents,surgeonscanrefertoanatomybooks,andhistorianscanalsohavealargenumberofpersonalchronology.
Therewillbeanewprofession,thatis"trajectorymaker",theywillconstructuseful"trajectory"fromalargeamountofordinarymaterialsandfeelhappyfromit.Thelegacyofthemasterswillnotonlybewhathepersonallycontributedtothetreasurehouseoftheworld'sknowledge,butwillbecometheoverallknowledgeframeworksharedbymankind.Atthistime,peoplewillbeabletomake,store,andretrieveallhumanrecordsthroughthem.
Itisattractivetoimaginemorespectaculartoolsinthefuture,anditwillbeboringtostudymethodsandcomponentsthatarecurrentlyknownorthataredevelopingrapidly.Predictionisverydifficult,butifyoumakeapredictionbasedonthecurrentsituation,youcantellthepossibilitymorethanjustaprediction.Itcanalsobeasuggestion,becauseapredictionbasedonanexistingsituationismoreeffective,notbasedonTheunknownpredictionisjustaguess.
Analogcomputer
Computerswerestillrareatthetime,andpeople’ssolutionstoproblemswereusuallywrittenontables(suchasgraphsandnomograms)toSolvesimilarproblemstogether,suchasthetemperatureandpressuredistributionintheheater.
Thenomographicdiagramofthechi-squaredistributionBeforeWorldWarII,thehighesttechnologyatthattimewasmechanicalandelectricanalogcomputers,whichwerealsoconsideredapromisingcomputertrend.Theanalogcomputerusescontinuouslychangingphysicalquantities,suchaselectricpotential,fluidpressure,mechanicalmotion,etc.,toprocessdevicesthatrepresentthecorrespondingquantitiesintheproblemtobesolved.Forexample,theWaterIntegrator(WaterIntegrator)wasmadein1936.Comparedwithmoderndigitalcomputers,analogcomputersarequiteinflexibleandmustbemanuallyassembled(suchasreprogramming)tohandlethenextproblemtobesolved.However,theearlydigitalcomputershadlimitedcapabilitiesandcouldnotsolvetoocomplexproblems,soatthattimeTheanalogcomputerstillhasanadvantage.Untildigitalcomputersbecamefasterandfaster,withmoreandmorememorycapabilities(suchasRAM),analogcomputerswerequicklyeliminated,andprogramminghassincebecomeanotherprofessionalskillofhumans.
TheNortonbombersightpartisanalogoustocomputersandiswidelyusedinmilitarysightingpurposes,suchastheNortonBombsightandFire-ControlSystemonnavalships.SomedevicesevenIthasnotbeenretireduntildecadesaftertheendofWorldWarII.OneexampleistheMarkIFireControlComputer(MarkIFireControlComputer)developedbytheU.S.Navy,whichcanbeseenfromdestroyerstobattleships.
In1930,VannivalBushinventedthedifferentialanalyzer(DifferentialAnalyzer),thefatherofmoderncomputers.Theanalogcomputertechnologyreacheditspeak.Mostofthepartshavebeenmanufactured.Finally,theUniversityofPennsylvaniaTheMooreSchoolofElectricalEngineering(MooreSchoolofElectricalEngineering)hascreatedthemostinfluentialdigitalelectroniccomputer──ElectronicNumericalIntegralCalculator(Eniak).ThebirthofEniakendedthelifeofmostanalogcomputers,butfromthe1950stothe1960s,hybridanalogcomputerscontrolledbydigitalelectronicswerestillactive,andthenanalogcomputerswereusedinsomeprofessionalapplications.
ComputersandDigitalLibraries
IntheSecondWorldWar,BushusedtheanalogcomputerheinventedatMITmorethantenyearsago—thelargedifferentialanalyzer—-Tohelpcalculatethetrajectoryoftheprojectile,andthroughtheBallisticsLaboratory,stronglyfundedthefirstdigitalcomputerresearchintheUnitedStates,whichobjectivelygavebirthtothecomputerera.
ThequestionofwhoistheinventorofthefirstdigitalelectroniccalculatorhasbeendisputedformanyyearsinthecomputerindustryintheUnitedStates.AconsiderablenumberofpeoplebelievethattheENIACcomputercompletedbyMozilliandEckertintheBallisticLaboratoryin1943istheworld’sfirstelectronicdigitalcalculator,butmanypeoplebelievethatitwasinIoanthatyear.TheABC(Atanasoft-BerryComputer)calculatorinventedbyAtanasoffandC.Berry,whotaughtatHuaUniversity,isthe"originator"ofthetruedigitalcomputer.Forthisreason,inOctober1973,awell-suitedAmericaninaMinnesotadistrictcourt,afterasmanyas135hearings,publiclypronouncedthisintellectualpropertycaserelatedtocomputerinventionrights.ThejudgmentfinallyfoundMozilliandEckertdidnotinventthefirstcalculator,butonlyusedtheideasinAtanasov'sinvention.
Theuseoflegaljudgmentstorestorethetruecolorsofthe"fatherofelectroniccomputers"isreallyanAmericaninvention!Buttheverdictcannotreplacehistoricalfacts.Basedonvarioushistoricalobjectiveevidences,itcanbesaidthatAtanasov’sABCmodelmachineisjustonthethresholdofanaloganddigitalcalculations.StartingfromABC,humancalculationshaveadvancedfromsimulationtodigital."Itsignifiesthatthecalculatorhasofficiallyenteredthedigitalage.TherewasBushintheproductionprocessofthesetwomachines.Theformerwasinideologicalinspiration,andthelatterwasintheareaofstrongfinancialaid.
TheoriginalintentionofBushtodevelopcomputerswhenhewasteachingatMIT,asmentionedearlier,wasalsotosolvedifferentialequationsrelatedtotransmissioncircuits.Atthattime,inordertofindthesolutionofanequation,thecalculationworkloadwasamazing,andIoftenthoughtaboutitformonths,orwastedhundredsofdraftpapersandstillcouldn'tgettheanswer.Onedayhesuddenlyfeltthatinsteadofthinkingaboutit,itwouldbemorecost-effectivetomakeananalogcomputingdevicetohelpsolvetheproblem.Sofrom1930-1931,Bushledagroupofyoungengineerstocompletea"large"computingmachineatMIT.Itisnotanexaggerationtosaythatitisa"mainframe",becausethismachineweighsmorethan100tons,isequippedwithhundredsofparallelsteelshafts,andneedstobedrivenbyaseriesofelectricmotors.Thewiresinsidethemachinealoneare200mileslongiftheyarelinedupendtoend.ApersonwhohasvisitedthedifferentialanalyzeroncesarcasticallysaidthatBushmust"holdawrenchinonehandandascrewdriverintheother"tooperatethemachinetoperformcalculations,butatthetimeitexcitedMITscientistsbecausetheyhadasolution.Apowerfulweaponformathpuzzles.
Ofcourse,thedifferentialanalyzerinventedbyBush,whodirectlyinspiredAtanasov,isjustananalogcomputer.Theso-calledsimulationmeansthatitusestheangleofgearrotationtosimulatethecalculationresult.SimilartotheprincipleoftheLeibnizmultiplier,itisnotadigitalcomputerinthetruesense.Bushinventedatleastfiveofthesemachinesatthetime.TheyhelpedBritaincalculatetheballistictableofGermanV-2missilesinWorldWarII.Nowadays,intheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologyandtheLondonMuseum,thereisstillanincompletemachineofthiskind,buttheyarenolongerfunctioningproperly.
InJuly1945,whenthewarwasabouttoend,Bushpublishedapaperentitled"Itseemswecanthink"intheinfluentialAmericanmagazine"TheAtlanticMonthly",titled[8]"Wecanthink"actuallyrefersto"wecanusemachinethinking".Inthearticle,hesortedoutandexpoundedhisthoughtsaboutusingmicrofilm,soundandothermultimediamethodstostoreandprocessinformationtoachievethepurposeofhelpinghumanthinking.Theeditorofthemagazinewroteintheeditor'snotetoBush’spaperatthetime:
"AsthedirectorofOSRD,Dr.Bushcoordinatedmorethan6000topAmericanscientiststoapplysciencetowar.Inthispaperofgreatsignificance,heinspiresscientiststoinvestinthenewfieldofknowledgeafterthewar.Overtheyears,alargenumberofinventionsandcreationshavegreatlyexpandedthematerialcapabilitiesofmankind,farexceedingtheimprovementofmentalintelligence.Ahammerisbetterthanafist,themicroscopehassharpenedtheeyes,andthetoolsarenowinhand.Ifproperlydeveloped,itwillpavethewayformankindtousetheknowledgeheritageofallages.Throughthisarticle,Dr.BushcallsforthethinkingbetweenhumanbeingsandourtotalaccumulationofknowledgeAnewtypeofconnectionbetweenthetwocountries."
Inthearticle,BushpointedoutthatintheSecondWorldWar,scientificintelligenceplayedanindispensableroleinlarge-scalemilitaryresearchanddevelopmentwork,anditplayedanimportantroleinpost-warscientificresearch.Thereiscertainlystillanimportantsignificancethatcannotbeunderestimatedinthedevelopmentofthecountry.Inthearticle,healsoproposedforthefirsttimetocombinethetraditionalstorageandsearchmechanismoflibrarycollectionswithcomputers,andconceivedanddescribedwhatheenvisionedwascalledMemex(somepeopletranslateditas"memoryexpansionmachine",andsomepeopletranslateditas"hypertextmemory".".Thisarticlefromthelatter)equipment,itsessenceisamechanizedpersonaldocumentandlibrary,thatis,adesktoppersonaldocumentworksystem,acomprehensivedevicethatcanstorebooks,records,andcommunications.TedNelsonoftheUnitedStatesformallyproposedtheconceptofHypertextinthe1960s.Inthe1990s,withthedevelopmentofmultimediatechnologyandInternettechnology,theapplicationofhypertexthasbecomemoreextensive,andthehypertextizationofinformationorganizationandmanagementhasbecomethebasicformofinformationtransmission.
Today,withtherapiddevelopmentofcomputertechnology,communicationtechnology,high-densitystoragetechnologyandmultimediatechnology,theinformationstoredandtransmittedbytheoriginalvariousphysicalcarriersisgraduallybeingdigitized.Booksanddigitallibrariesthatreplacepapermediahaveatendencytoreplacetraditionallibraries.TheideaofadigitallibrarybeganwithBush’sthoughtsinthispaper,whichmadehimarecognizedprophetandpioneerinthisfield.
Differentialanalyzer(7photos)
Thecharacteristicsofthedifferentialanalyzer
TheadvantageofthedigitaldifferentialanalyzeristhattheequipmentdoesnotComplicated,thetopiclayout(program)isrelativelysimple,andcanbecombinedwithdigitalandanalogsystems;thedisadvantageisthatthecalculationspeedislow.Therefore,itismainlyusedtosolvetheproblemofautomaticcontrolofslowprocesses,forexample,aircraftautomaticnavigationsystems,includingmilitaryones.