Blaise Pascal is the first summator. Adding machine and adding machines: Historical overview
Pascal's summing machine (mechanism)
Pascal's adding device was a box with many gears. In just one decade, the scientist managed to build more than fifty different versions of the machine. While working on the Pascaline, the summed numbers were entered by turning the dials in a certain way. Each was marked with divisions from zero to nine, which corresponded to the 1st decimal place of the number. The wheel “transferred” the excess over the nine, while making a full circle and moving the left “senior” wheel one unit forward.
Despite universal recognition, the device did not make the scientist rich. However, the very principle of linked wheels formed the basis of most computing machines over the next three centuries. For his invention, Pascal received a royal patent, according to which he retained copyright in the production and sale of machines. However, the gifted inventor did not stop there.
In 1648, Pascal completed his “experiments concerning emptiness.” He proved the absence of “fear of emptiness” in nature. The scientist analyzed the equilibrium of liquids under the influence of atmospheric pressure. The results of the discoveries formed the basis for the invention of the hydraulic press, which was significantly ahead of the technology of that time.
Pascal's summing machine (appearance)
But one fine moment the scientific path became disgusting to the famous scientist. The temple of science turned out to be cramped, and Pascal wanted to enjoy the “charms” of life. The world accepted him immediately, and for several years the inventor immersed himself in the atmosphere of aristocratic salons. All these years, Pascal's younger sister, a nun from Port Royal, tirelessly prayed for the salvation of her brother's lost soul.
One November evening in 1654, Pascal had a mystical insight. When he came to his senses, he immediately wrote down the revelation on a piece of parchment and sewed it into the lining of his dress. This relic was with the scientist until his very last day.
On the day of Pascal's death, his friends discovered the parchment. The event became a turning point in the life of the inventor, who left scientific practice and experiments. From now on, his writing talent was aimed at defending Christianity. The scientist publishes several artistic essays entitled “Letters to a Provincial.”
Pascal's summing machine (circuit diagram)
Pascal devoted the last year of his life to a pilgrimage to the churches of Paris. He was plagued by terrible headaches, and doctors forbade mental stress. However, the patient managed to write down the thoughts that came to his mind on any material that came to hand. On August 19, 1662, a painful, long-term illness took over, and Blaise Pascal died.
After his death, friends discovered many bundles of notes that were tied with twine. Later they were deciphered and then published as a separate book. For the modern reader it is known as "Thoughts".
The programming language was named after Pascal. His father is considered to be Niklaus Wirth. Work on the Pascal language was carried out throughout 1968-1969. The year of birth of the Pascal language is considered to be 1970. The computer community has found in it an effective tool for structured programming and teaching proper programming.
Brilliant people are brilliant in everything. This common statement is fully applicable to the French scientist Blaise Pascal. The inventor's research interests included physics and mathematics, literature and philosophy. It is Pascal who is considered one of the founders of mathematical analysis, the author of the fundamental law of hydrodynamics. He is also known as the first creator of mechanical computers. These devices are prototypes of modern computers.
At that time, the models were unique in many ways. In terms of their technical features, they surpassed many analogues invented before Blaise Pascal. What is the story of "Pascalina"? Where can you find these designs now?
First prototypes
Attempts to automate computing processes have been carried out for a long time. The Arabs and Chinese were the most successful in these matters. They are considered the discoverers of such a device as the abacus. The principle of operation is quite simple. To carry out the calculation, it is necessary to move the bones from one part to another. The products additionally allowed for subtraction operations. The inconveniences of the first Arab and Chinese abaci were associated only with the fact that the stones easily crumbled during transfer. In some shops in the outback you can still find the simplest types of Arabic abacus, although now they are called abacus.
Relevance of the problem
Pascal began designing his car at the age of 17. The teenager’s thoughts about the need to automate routine computing processes were inspired by the experience of his own father. The fact is that the parent of a brilliant scientist worked as a tax collector and spent a long time doing tedious calculations. The design itself took a long time and required large physical, mental and material investments from the scientist. In the latter case, Blaise Pascal was helped by his own father, who quickly realized the advantages of his son's development.
Competitors
Naturally, at that time there was no talk of using any electronic means of computing. Everything was carried out only through mechanics. The use of wheel rotation to carry out the addition operation was proposed long before Pascal. For example, a device created in 1623 was no less popular in its time. However, Pascal’s machine introduced certain technical innovations that significantly simplified the addition process. For example, a French inventor developed a scheme for automatically transferring a unit when a number moves to a higher digit. This made it possible to add multi-digit numbers without human intervention in the counting process, which virtually eliminated the risk of errors and inaccuracies.
Appearance and principle of operation
Visually, Pascal's first adding machine resembled an ordinary metal box in which gears connected to each other were located. The user, by turning the dial wheels, set the values he needed. Numbers from 0 to 9 were applied to each of them. When making a full revolution, the gear shifted the adjacent one (corresponding to a higher rank) by one unit.
The very first model had only five gears. Subsequently, Blaise Pascal's calculating machine underwent some changes regarding an increase in the number of gears. 6 of them appeared, then this number increased to 8. This innovation made it possible to carry out calculations up to 9,999,999. The answer appeared at the top of the device.
Operations
The wheels in Pascal's calculating machine could only rotate in one direction. As a result, the user was only able to perform addition operations. With some skill, the devices were also adapted for multiplication, but performing calculations in this case was noticeably more difficult. There was a need to add the same numbers several times in a row, which was extremely inconvenient. Inability to rotate the wheel reverse side did not allow calculations with negative numbers.
Spreading
Since the creation of the prototype, the scientist has made about 50 devices. Pascal's mechanical machine aroused unprecedented interest in France. Unfortunately, the product was never able to gain widespread popularity, even despite the resonance among the general public and in scientific circles.
The main problem with the products was their high cost. Production was expensive, and naturally, this had a negative impact on the final price of the entire device. It was the difficulties with the release that led to the fact that the scientist was able to sell no more than 16 models in his entire life. People appreciated all the advantages of automatic calculation, but did not want to take the devices.
Banks
Blaise Pascal's main focus during implementation was on banks. But financial institutions for the most part refused to purchase a machine for automatic calculations. Problems arose due to France's complex monetary policy. At that time, the country had livres, deniers and sous. One livre consisted of 20 sous, and a sous of 12 deniers. That is, there was no decimal number system as such. This is why it was practically impossible to use Pascal's machine in banking in reality. France switched to the number system adopted in other countries only in 1799. However, even after this time, the use of an automated device was noticeably complicated. This already touched on the previously mentioned difficulties in production. Labor was mostly manual, so each machine required painstaking work. As a result, they simply stopped making them altogether.
Government support
Blaise Pascal gave one of the first automatic calculating machines to Chancellor Seguier. This one statesman provided support to the novice scientist in the first stages of creating an automatic device. At the same time, the chancellor managed to obtain from the king privileges to produce this unit specifically for Pascal. Although the invention of the machine belonged entirely to the scientist himself, patent law was not developed in France at that time. The privilege from the royal person was received in 1649.
Sales
As mentioned above, Pascal’s machine did not gain much popularity. The scientist himself was only involved in the manufacture of devices; his friend Roberval was responsible for the sale.
Development
The principle of rotation of mechanical gears, implemented in Pascal's computer, was taken as the basis for the development of other similar devices. The first successful improvement is attributed to the German mathematics professor Leibniz. The creation of the adding machine dates back to 1673. Number additions were also performed in the decimal system, but the device itself was distinguished by greater functionality. The fact is that with its help it was possible not only to perform addition, but also to multiply, subtract, divide and even take the square root. The scientist added a special wheel to the design, which made it possible to speed up repeated addition operations.
Leibniz presented his product in France and England. One of the cars even ended up with the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, who presented it to the Chinese monarch. The product was far from perfect. The wheel that Leibniz invented for subtraction was subsequently used in other adding machines.
The first commercial success of mechanical ones dates back to 1820. The calculator was created by the French inventor Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar. The principle of operation is in many ways reminiscent of Pascal's machine, but the device itself is smaller in size, a little easier to manufacture and cheaper. This is what predetermined the success of businessmen.
The fate of creation
Throughout his life, the scientist created about 50 machines; only a few have survived to this day. Now it is possible to reliably track the fate of only 6 devices. Four models are in permanent storage at the Paris Museum of Arts and Crafts, and two more at the Clermont Museum. The remaining computing devices found their home in private collections. It is not known for certain who currently owns them. The serviceability of the units is also in question.
Opinions
Some biographers connect the development and creation of Pascal's adding machine with the failing health of the inventor himself. As mentioned above, the scientist began his first works in his youth. They required enormous amounts of mental and physical strength from the author. The work lasted for almost 5 years. As a result of this, Blaise Pascal began to suffer from severe headaches, which then accompanied him for the rest of his life.
This page contains major events history of the development of adding machines. It should be noted that the emphasis is not on numerous experimental models that have not received practical distribution, but on designs that were mass-produced. Approximately 5th - 6th century BC. The appearance of the abacus (Egypt, Babylon)Around 6th century AD Chinese abacus appears.
1846 Kummer's calculator (Russian Empire, Poland). It is similar to Slonimsky's machine (1842, Russian empire), but more compact. It was widely used throughout the world until the 1970s as a cheap pocket-sized abacus.
1950s The rise of computers and semi-automatic adding machines. It was at this time that most of the models of electric computers were released.
1962 - 1964 The appearance of the first electronic calculators (1962 - experimental series ANITA MK VII (England), by the end of 1964 electronic calculators were produced by many developed countries, including the USSR (VEGA KZSM)). A fierce competition begins between electronic calculators and the most powerful computers. But the appearance of calculators had almost no effect on the production of small and cheap adding machines (mostly non-automatic and manually driven).
1968 Production of the Contex-55 began, probably the latest model of highly automated adding machines.
1969 Peak production of adding machines in the USSR. About 300 thousand Felixes and VK-1s were produced.
1978 Around this time, production of Felix-M adding machines was discontinued. This may have been the last type of adding machine produced in the world.
1988 The last reliably known date of release of a mechanical computer - the Oka cash register.
1995-2002 Mechanical cash registers (KKM) "Oka" (models 4400, 4401, 4600) were excluded from the state register of the Russian Federation. Apparently, the last area of application of complex mechanical computers in Russia has disappeared.
2008 In some Moscow stores you can still find abacus...
Logarithms
The term "logarithm" arose from a combination of the Greek words logos - ratio, ratio and arithmos - number.
The basic properties of the logarithm allow you to replace multiplication, division, exponentiation, and rooting with the simpler operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
The logarithm is usually denoted loga N. The logarithm with base e = 2.718... is called natural and is denoted ln N. The logarithm with base 10 is called decimal and is denoted log N. The equality y = loga x defines the logarithmic function.
“The logarithm of a given number N to the base a, the exponent of the power y to which the number a must be raised to obtain N; Thus,
The inventor of logarithms was John Napier (1550-1617), a Scottish mathematician.
Descendant of an old warlike Scottish family. He studied logic, theology, law, physics, mathematics, ethics. He was interested in alchemy and astrology. Invented several useful agricultural implements. In the 1590s, he came up with the idea of logarithmic calculations and compiled the first tables of logarithms, but published his famous work “Description of the Amazing Tables of Logarithms” only in 1614. At the end of the 1620s, the slide rule was invented, a calculating tool that uses Napier tables to simplify calculations. By using slide rule operations on numbers are replaced by operations on logarithms of these numbers.
In 1617, shortly before his death, Napier invented a mathematical set to facilitate arithmetic calculations. The set consisted of bars with numbers from 0 to 9 and their multiples printed on them. To multiply a number, the bars were placed side by side so that the numbers at the ends made up this number. The answer could be seen on the sides of the bars. In addition to multiplication, Neper's sticks allowed division and square roots.
In 1640, an attempt to create a mechanical computing machine was made by Blaise Pascal (1623-1662).
There is an opinion that “Blaise Pascal’s idea of a calculating machine was probably inspired by the teachings of Descartes, who argued that the brain of animals, including humans, is characterized by automatism, therefore a number of mental processes are essentially no different from mechanical ones.” An indirect confirmation of this opinion is that Pascal set himself the goal of creating such a machine. At the age of 18, he begins to work on creating a machine with the help of which even those unfamiliar with the rules of arithmetic could perform various operations.
The first working model of the machine was ready in 1642. Pascal was not satisfied with it, and he immediately began to design a new model. “I did not save,” he later wrote, addressing a “friend-reader,” “neither time, nor labor, nor money to bring it to the point of being useful to you... I had the patience to make up to 50 different models: some wooden others made of ivory, ebony, copper..."
Pascal experimented not only with the material, but also with the shape of the machine parts: models were made - “some from straight rods or plates, others from curves, others using chains; some with concentric gears, others with eccentrics; some move in a straight line, others move in a circle; some are in the shape of cones, others are in the shape of cylinders..."
Finally, in 1645, the arithmetic machine, as Pascal called it, or the Pascal wheel, as those who were familiar with the invention of the young scientist called it, was ready.
It was a lightweight brass box measuring 350X25X75 mm (Figure 11.7). There are 8 round holes on the top cover, each with a circular scale.
Figure 11.7 - Pascal's machine with the lid removed
The scale of the far right hole is divided into 12 equal parts, the scale of the hole next to it is divided into 20 parts, the scales of the remaining 6 holes have a decimal division. This graduation corresponds to the division of the livre, the main monetary unit of that time, into smaller ones: 1 sou = 1/20 livre and 1 denier - 1/12 sou.
Gears located below the plane of the top cover are visible in the holes. The number of teeth of each wheel is equal to the number of scale divisions of the corresponding hole (for example, the rightmost wheel has 12 teeth). Each wheel can rotate independently of the other on its own axis. The wheel is turned by hand using a drive pin that is inserted between two adjacent teeth. The pin rotates the wheel until it hits a fixed stop fixed at the bottom of the cover and protruding into the hole to the left of number 1 on the dial. If, for example, you insert a pin between the teeth located opposite the numbers 3 and 4 and turn the wheel all the way, it will turn 3/10 of a full turn.
The rotation of the wheel is transmitted through the internal mechanism of the machine to a cylindrical drum, the axis of which is located horizontally. There are two rows of numbers on the side surface of the drum; The numbers in the bottom row are arranged in ascending order - 0, ..., 9, the numbers in the top row are in descending order - 9, 8, ..., 1,0. They are visible in the rectangular windows of the lid. The bar, which is placed on the lid of the machine, can be moved up or down along the windows, revealing either the upper or lower row of numbers, depending on what mathematical operation needs to be performed.
Unlike the well-known calculating instruments such as the abacus, in the arithmetic machine, instead of an objective representation of numbers, their representation was used in the form of the angular position of an axis (shaft) or a wheel that this axis carries. To perform arithmetic operations, Pascal replaced the translational movement of pebbles, tokens, etc. in abacus-shaped instruments with rotational movement axles (wheels), so that in his machine the addition of numbers corresponds to the addition of angles proportional to them.
The wheel with which numbers are entered (the so-called setting wheel), in principle, does not have to be geared - this wheel can, for example, be a flat disk, along the periphery of which holes are drilled at 36° into which the drive pin is inserted.
We just have to get acquainted with how Pascal solved perhaps the most difficult question - the mechanism for transferring tens. The presence of such a mechanism, which allows the calculator not to waste attention on remembering the transfer from the least significant to the most significant, is the most striking difference between Pascal’s machine and known calculating tools.
Figure 11.8 shows the machine elements belonging to the same category: setting wheel N, digital drum I, a counter consisting of 4 crown wheels B, one gear K and a tens transmission mechanism. Note that wheels B1, B4 and K are not of fundamental importance for the operation of the machine and are used only to transmit the movement of the setting wheel N to the digital drum I. But wheels B2 and B3 are integral elements of the counter and, in accordance with “computing machine” terminology, are called counting wheels . On
shows the counting wheels of two adjacent digits, rigidly mounted on the axes A 1 and A 2, and the tens transmission mechanism, which Pascal called the “belt” (sautoir). This mechanism has the following device.
Figure 11.8 - Elements of the Pascal machine related to one digit of a number
Figure 11.9 - Tens transmission mechanism in Pascal's machine
On the counting wheel B 1 of the lowest category there are rods d, which, when the axis A 1 rotates, engages with the teeth of the fork M located at the end of the two-knee lever D 1. This lever rotates freely on axis A 2 of the highest order, while the fork carries a spring-loaded pawl. When, when rotating axis A 1, wheel B 1 reaches the position corresponding to number b, the rods C1 will engage with the teeth of the fork, and at the moment when it moves from 9 to 0, the fork will slip out of engagement and fall down under its own weight, dragging the dog along with you. The pawl will push the counting wheel B 2 of the highest rank one step forward (that is, it will rotate it together with the axis A 2 by 36°). Lever H, ending with a hatchet-shaped tooth, plays the role of a latch that prevents wheel B 1 from rotating in the opposite direction when lifting the fork.
The transfer mechanism operates only in one direction of rotation of the counting wheels and does not allow the subtraction operation to be performed by rotating the wheels in the opposite direction. Therefore, Pascal replaced this operation with addition with decimal's complement.
Let, for example, you need to subtract 87 from 532. The addition method leads to the following actions:
532 - 87 = 532 - (100-13) = (532 + 13) - 100 = 445.
You just need to remember to subtract 100. But on a machine that has a certain number of digits, you don’t have to worry about this. Indeed, let the subtraction be performed on a 6-bit machine: 532 - 87. Then 000532 + 999913 = 1000445. But the leftmost unit will be lost by itself, since the transfer from the 6th digit has nowhere to go. In Pascal's machine, the decimal's complements are written on the top row of the digital reel. To perform the subtraction operation, it is enough to move the bar covering the rectangular windows to the lower position, while maintaining the direction of rotation of the adjustment wheels.
With the invention of Pascal, the countdown of the development of computer technology begins. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. one inventor after another offered new design options for adding devices and arithmometers, until, finally, in the 19th century. The steadily growing volume of computing work did not create a sustainable demand for mechanical calculating devices and did not allow their serial production to be established.
Until a certain point in its development, humanity, when counting objects, was content with a natural “calculator” - ten fingers given from birth. When they became scarce, we had to come up with various primitive tools: counting stones, sticks, abacus, Chinese suan-pan, Japanese soroban, Russian abacus.
The design of these instruments is primitive, but handling them requires a fair amount of skill. So, for example, for modern man Born in the era of calculators, mastering multiplication and division on an abacus is extremely difficult. Such miracles of “bone” balancing act are now possible, perhaps, only for a microprogrammer privy to the secrets of the operation of an Intel microprocessor.
A breakthrough in the mechanization of counting came when European mathematicians began racing to invent adding machines.
However, it was Blaise Pascal, who was the first to not only design, but also build a working adding machine, who started, as they say, from scratch. A brilliant French scientist, one of the creators of probability theory, the author of several important mathematical theorems, a natural scientist who discovered atmospheric pressure and determined the mass of the earth’s atmosphere, and an outstanding thinker who left behind such works as “Thoughts” and “Letters to to a provincial."
I am interested in Blaise Pascal as a person and as an inventor, so I want to know more about his life and his inventions, and especially about the computer.
Pascal Blaise (19.VI. 1623 - 19.VII. 1662) - French mathematician, physicist and philosopher (see Fig. 2). He was the third child in the family. His mother died when he was only three years old. In 1632, Pascal's family left Clermont and went to Paris.
Pascal's father had a good education and decided to directly pass it on to his son. His father decided that Blaise should not study mathematics until he was 15, and all mathematical books were removed from their home. However, Blaise's curiosity pushed him to study geometry at the age of 12. He discovered that the sum of the angles in any triangle is equal to two right angles. When his father found out, he relented and allowed Blaise to study Euclid. In December 1639, Pascal's family left Paris to live in Royn, where his father was appointed tax collector of Upper Normandy.
In 1641 (according to other sources in 1642) Pascal designed a summing machine. It was the first digital calculator and helped his father with his work. The device, called the Pascalina, resembled a mechanical calculator from the 1940s. Pascal's machine was widely used: in France it remained in use until 1799, and in England even until 1971.
Blaise Pascal made significant contributions to the development of mathematics. In the treatise “An Experience in the Theory of Conic Sections” (1639, published 1640), he outlined one of the main theorems of projective geometry, the so-called. Pascal's theorem. By 1654 he had completed a number of works on arithmetic, number theory, algebra and probability theory. Pascal found common feature divisibility of any integer by any other integer, based on knowledge of the sum of the digits of a number, a method of calculating binomial coefficients (Arithmetic triangle); gave a way to calculate the number of combinations of n numbers by m; formulated a number of basic provisions of the elementary theory of probability.
Pascal's works, containing the geometric shape an integral method for solving a number of problems for calculating the areas of figures, volumes and surface areas of bodies, as well as other problems related to the cycloid, were a significant step in the development of infinitesimal analysis.
In physics, Pascal studied barometric pressure and hydrostatics. His philosophical views fluctuated between rationalism and skepticism. He was engaged and literary activity- his “Letters to a Provincial” had a significant influence on the development of French literary prose and theater of the 17th-18th centuries. He was one of those students who was disliked by his classmates. It's hard to love someone whose GPA was so high that everyone seemed stupid in comparison.
Pascal stood out for his abilities in everything he devoted himself to: physics, hydrostatics, hydrodynamics, mathematics, statistics, invention, logic, polemics, philosophy and prose. We talk about the "Pascal" pressure, the Pascal Principle, and even the computer language is called Pascal. Literary history scholars call Pascal the Father of French Prose, and theologians discuss Pascal's Wager, while evangelists use him to testify to the gospel to sinners. He knew what pain was, he knew what struggle was, and he knew Jesus Christ in a way that few people know.
He made all his discoveries before he was forty years old. Pascal's reputation as a mathematician grew, and, at the zenith of his fame, he corresponded with other prominent scientists and philosophers, including Fermat, Descartes, Christopher Wren, Leibniz, Huygens, and others. He continued to work on conic sections, projective geometry, probability, binomial coefficients, cycloids and many other mysteries of the time. Sometimes he even argued with his famous colleagues about difficult problems that he himself, of course, could solve.
In physics, Pascal excelled in both theory and experiment. At the age of 30, he completed his Treatise on the Equilibrium of Fluids, the first systematic theory of hydrostatics. In it, he formulated his famous law of pressure, which states that pressure is equal in all directions over the entire surface of a given depth. Today this principle is fundamental in many fields and is applied in many objects, such as: submarines, breathing apparatus for diving, and many breathing devices. Applying this principle, Pascal invented the syringe and the hydraulic press.
Blaise Pascal's insightful mind helped him to explain the rising liquid in the barometer not as "the property of a liquid that does not tolerate a vacuum," but as the pressure of the air outside on the liquid in the reservoir. He opposed Descartes (who did not believe that a vacuum existed) and other Aristotelian followers of his time. Noticing that atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude, he concluded that the vacuum is higher than the atmosphere. James Keifer writes: “The presentation of such results is a kind of mockery of the Jesuit opponents. Thus he pushed back their methods, and accused them of relying on the authority of Aristotle in physics, and at the same time ignoring the authority of Scripture and the Fathers in religion." His wit, irony, insight, knowledge, and logic, supported by mathematics, made his work vibrant and filled with verve and strength. Keifer writes: “He taught his countrymen how to write so that people would read the written text with pleasure.” His work is truly a pleasure to read! His most famous work was not even titled or completed.
Supposedly, at the age of 30, he began working on an "Apologetics [defense] of the Christian Religion", but, unfortunately, after his death, only a pile of jumbled papers was found, which were published under the title Pensees (Thoughts). However, Pascal wrote enough material to challenge believers and non-believers alike about human nature, sin, suffering, unbelief, philosophy, false religion, Jesus Christ, Scripture, heaven and hell, and much more. The bet isn't just a blind hope that I'll be on the right side after I die; it is a conscious choice that will put my life in order in the future and give me peace, joy and purpose in the present. Pascal died at the age of 39 from stomach cancer.
Mathematician Blaise Pascal began building the Pascalina adding machine in 1642 at the age of 19, after observing the work of his father, who was a tax collector and often had to perform long and tedious calculations.
Pascal's machine was a mechanical device in the form of a box with numerous gears connected to one another. The numbers to be added were entered into the machine by turning the dials accordingly. Each of these wheels, corresponding to one decimal place of a number, was marked with divisions from 0 to 9. When entering a number, the wheels scrolled to the corresponding number. Having completed full turn the excess over the number 9 was transferred to the next digit by the wheel, shifting the adjacent wheel by 1 position.
The first versions of the Pascalina had five gears, later the number increased to six or even eight, which made it possible to work with large numbers, up to 9999999. The answer appeared in the upper part of the metal case. Rotation of the wheels was possible only in one direction, excluding the possibility of directly operating with negative numbers. However, Pascal's machine made it possible to perform not only addition, but also other operations, but it required the use of a rather inconvenient procedure for repeated additions.
Subtraction was performed using nine's additions, which, to help the reader, appeared in a window located above the original value set. The first sample constantly broke down, and two years later Pascal made a more advanced model.
It was a purely financial machine: it had six decimal places and two additional ones: one divided into 20 parts, the other into 12, which corresponded to the ratio of the then monetary units (1 sou = 1/20 livre, 1 denier = 1/12 sou).
Each category corresponded to a wheel with a specific number of teeth. It was Pascal who owned the first patent for the Pascal Wheel, issued to him in 1649 by the French king. As a sign of respect for his achievements in the field of "computational science", one of modern languages programming is called Pascal.
Despite the advantages of automatic calculations, the use of a decimal machine for financial calculations within the framework of the monetary system in force in France at that time was difficult. Calculations were carried out in livres (pounds), sous (solids) and deniers (denarii). There were 20 sous in a livre and 12 deniers in a sous. It is clear that the use of the decimal system complicated the already difficult process of calculations.
However, in about 10 years, Pascal built about 50 from a wide variety of materials: copper, various types of wood, ivory.
The scientist presented one of them to Chancellor Seguier (Pier Seguier, 1588-1672), sold some models, and demonstrated some during lectures on the latest achievements of mathematical science. 8 copies have survived to this day. Despite the general admiration it caused, the machine did not bring wealth to its creator. The complexity and high cost of the machine, combined with poor computing capabilities, served as an obstacle to its widespread use. Nevertheless, the principle of connected wheels underlying the Pascalina became the basis for almost three centuries for most of the created computing devices.
Pascal's machine became the second actually working computing device after Wilhelm Schickard's Counting Clock, created in 1623.
30 years after Pascalina, in 1673, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's "arithmetic instrument" appeared - a twelve-digit decimal device for performing arithmetic operations, including multiplication and division, for which, in addition to gears, a stepped roller was used. “My machine makes it possible to perform multiplication and division on huge numbers instantly,” Leibniz wrote proudly to his friend.
More than a hundred years passed and only at the end of the 18th century the following steps were taken in France, which were of fundamental importance for further development digital computing - “software” control of a loom created by Joseph Jacquard using punch cards, and manual calculation technology proposed by Gaspard de Prony, who divided numerical calculations into three stages: development numerical method, drawing up a sequence program arithmetic operations, carrying out the actual calculations by arithmetic operations on numbers in accordance with the compiled program. These two innovations were used by the Englishman Charles Babbage, who took a qualitatively new step in the development of digital computing technology - the transition from manual to automatic execution of calculations according to a compiled program. He developed a project for the Analytical Engine - a mechanical universal digital computer with program control (1830-1846).
In 1799, France's transition to the metric system also affected its monetary system, which finally became decimal. However, almost until the beginning of the 19th century, the creation and use of counting machines remained unprofitable. It was not until 1820 that Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar patented the first commercially successful mechanical calculator.
At the end of the 19th century, Russia most decisively invaded the world market for adding machines. The author of this breakthrough was the Russified Swede Vilgodt Teofilovich Odner (1846-1905), a talented inventor and successful businessman. Before starting to produce counting machines, Vilgodt Teofilovich designed a device for automated numbering of banknotes, which was used in the printing of securities. He is the author of a machine for stuffing cigarettes, an automatic voting box in the State Duma, as well as turnstiles used in all shipping companies in Russia.
In 1875, Odhner designed his first adding machine, the production rights of which he transferred to the Ludwig Nobel engineering plant.
15 years later, having become the owner of the workshop, Vilgodt Teofilovich launched the production of a new model of adding machine in St. Petersburg, which compares favorably with the calculating machines that existed at that time in its compactness, reliability, ease of use and high productivity.
Three years later, the workshop becomes a powerful plant, producing more than 5 thousand adding machines per year. A product with the mark “V. T. Odner Mechanical Plant, St. Petersburg” begins to gain worldwide popularity, it is awarded the highest awards at industrial exhibitions in Chicago, Brussels, Stockholm, and Paris. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Odner adding machine (see Fig. 5) began to dominate the world market.
After the sudden death of the “Russian Bill Gates” in 1905, Odner’s work was continued by his relatives and friends. The revolution put an end to the company’s glorious history: V.T. Mechanical Plant. Odner was converted into a repair plant.
However, in the mid-1920s, the production of adding machines in Russia was revived. The most popular model, called “Felix”, was produced at the plant named after. Dzerzhinsky until the end of the 1960s. In parallel with the Felix, the Soviet Union launched the production of electromechanical calculating machines of the VK series, in which muscular efforts were replaced by an electric drive. This type of computer was created in the image and likeness of the German Mercedes car. Electromechanical machines had significantly higher productivity compared to adding machines. However, the roar they created was like machine gun fire. If about two dozen Mercedes were working in the operating room, then in terms of noise it was reminiscent of a fierce battle.
In the 1970s, when electronic calculators began to appear - first tube, then transistor - all the mechanical splendor described above began to rapidly move to museums, where it remains today
pascal adding machine
Conclusion
In my work, I achieved the goals that I set for myself before. I learned about the life of the great scientist Blaise Pascal. He made significant contributions to the development of many sciences. From my work it is clear that Blaise Pascal was quite educated person, otherwise I think that he would not have made so many discoveries in such fields of knowledge as: physics, hydrostatics, etc.
Believe me, there are quite a lot of them. He is the first creator of computer technology that has been widely used. The principle of connected wheels underlying it became the basis for almost three centuries for the majority of created computing devices. It was even named after Blaise Pascal. famous language programming, which is very popular in the field of professional programming. And from this it follows that Blaise Pascal was a man of genius in his own right, who made a great contribution to the development of science.
List of information resources
- 1. www. calc. ru
- 2. http://www.icfcst.kiev.ua/museum/Early_r.html
- 3. http://www.wikiznanie.ru
- 4. http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/telegraph/technics/189/
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