NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: London Science Museum
From: Fred Hebard
Date: 2012 Jun 27, 11:22 -0400
From: Fred Hebard
Date: 2012 Jun 27, 11:22 -0400
Alex, Was that impressive piece Babbage's differential engine or another device? I know this is a bit off topic, but... Thanks, Fred Hebard On Jun 27, 2012, at 3:58 AM, eremenko@math.purdue.edu wrote: > > Strangely, they do not show their Bygrave rule in the current > "Mathematical" exhibition, > though they show many slide rules, including cylindrical ones. > There is also a Troughton sextant looking exactly as the one that > belonged to Gauss (see an old discussion beginning with "Sextant in > German money"). > > The most impressive piece is a hudge analog differential equation solver, > which is a clockwork-type mechanism with shafts and wheels, occupying > a large room and served by no less than 20 people:-) > > Alex. > >> I visited that museum in 2009 and, by prior arrangement, also visited >> their storage facility and was allowed to examine and handle their Bygrave >> slide rule.� See: >> >> http://fer3.com/arc/m2.aspx/Manufacture-Bygraves-LaPook-aug-2009-g9378 >> >> gl >> >> --- On Tue, 6/26/12, Alexandre Eremenkowrote: >> >> From: Alexandre Eremenko >> Subject: [NavList] London Science Museum >> To: NavList---org >> Date: Tuesday, June 26, 2012, 9:20 AM >> >> I recently visited the Science Museum in London. >> It has a Troughton dividing engine in a permanent exposition, >> but currently they also have two exhibitions: >> "Mathematics" and "Computers". In "Mathematics" exhibition they >> have many interesting items, I mean analog computers, various >> plotting devices and two other dividing engines, one of them WORKING! >> (What else can you display under the title "Mathematics" in a museum:-)The >> other dividing engines are another later one by Troughton, >> and one by Cary (London), which was used until 1920 and still working: >> in the museum display, you press a button, and an electric motor makes >> the parts of the engine move.Other very impressive things are differential >> analisers: pure mechanical >> devices for solving differential equations. It is amazing to see a high >> precision clockwork >> devices of such size:-)Alex.P.S. The very first Ramsden's dividing engine >> described in Bill Morris >> blog is in Smithsonian Institution >> in Washington DC. But I was never able to see it. Apparently it is not on >> display. >> ---------------------------------------------------------------- >> NavList message boards and member settings: www.fer3.com/NavList >> Members may optionally receive posts by email. >> To cancel email delivery, send a message to NoMail[at]fer3.com >> ---------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> >> >> : http://fer3.com/arc/m2.aspx?i=119778 >> >> >> > > > >
