So my buddy analog guru Eric Schlaepfer found a neat series of US Navy videos about their fire-control computers used before tubes and op-amps did the calculations. Mechanical engineers are sure to ...

It's worth mentioning that naval gun fire accuracy massively improved with the invention of radar. Until about 1938, all range finding used optical coincidence range finders and estimates of target ...

A computer that processes analog data is known as an analog computer. Analog computers store information in physical quantities in a continuous format and use measurements to perform computation.

Very well researched and educational article - just by reading and watching the embedded clips I now know how a mechanical computer works and also a bit about fire control. I visited the HMS Belfast ...

Before the era of digital electronic computers, mechanical analog computers were found everywhere. From the relative simplicity of bomb sights to the complexity of fire control computers on 1940s ...

A potentiometer is a three-terminal resistor with a rotating (as in this instrument) or sliding contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. This example has a front bearing plate of gold-colored ...

Today, most of what we think of as a computer uses digital technology. But that wasn’t always the case. From slide rules to mechanical fire solution computers to electronic analog computers, there ...

This object has a metal plate box construction, allen cap screws, and metal gears and ball bearings. It appears to be a two unit component integrator . A tag on the bottom reads: BUR. ORD. ASSEMBLY ...

At one time a scientist or engineer trying to solve a tough problem with electronic computation had the choice of an analog computer, a digital computer, or both together in a hybrid configuration.

In the azure waters off the coast of Antikythera, Greece, a chance discovery in the early 20th century transformed our understanding of ancient technology. A sponge diver, exploring the remnants of a ...