

Introducing a 100-year-old mechanical computer [video] - TechNewb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAsM30MAHLg

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lassies
YouTube’s ‘engineerguy’ is Bill Hammack who just (31 Oct 2014) published a new
book on the machine entitled “Albert Michelson's Harmonic Analyzer: A Visual
Tour of a Nineteenth Century Machine that Performs Fourier Analysis” which is
available at Amazon and his website
([http://www.engineerguy.com/fourier/](http://www.engineerguy.com/fourier/)) —
Note: at first I thought this video was solely a means of getting people to
buy his book, but if you go to his website he has the whole book available for
free download and purchase (as well as some cool posters).

Those not able to see the video, the computer is Albert Michelson's (1852 -
1931) Harmonic Analyzer to perform Fourier Analysis, and is part one of a four
part series (staggered upcoming release dates for next three installments). I
do wish he'd have all the segments in the series uploaded or at least show a
bit more of the mechanical operation as that seemed to be quite ingenious. The
clips shown of the mechanical operation either seemed slowed down or
altered/shot at an artsy angle which while visually appealing make it hard to
appreciate "how it works" overall.

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engineerguy
The other vids will detail "how it works." In the next two we show the steps
in synthesis and analysis, and the last on its operations details setting for
sines or cosines, the pen mechanism, etc. The book also goes over this -- as
you note the PDF is free. There is a direct download at the site, also a
torrent. Two vids detailing what's in the book likely come out tomorrow and
the day after . . . . Bill

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exodust
Nice one. Look forward to the next videos. For some reason now I really want
my very own mechanical computer. The fact I can't get one, just makes me want
it more.

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gosub
print it [http://www.chrisfenton.com/the-turbo-
entabulator/](http://www.chrisfenton.com/the-turbo-entabulator/)

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jacquesm
A software simulation of this machine could serve as a very nice visual aid
for people that are mechanically inclined that try to understand Fourier
Analysis. Nice project for a little web app.

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theinternetftw
A great way to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of these videos (and Bill's
production process in general) has been to check in on his vimeo accounts ([1]
and [2]).

It's not quite what you're looking for (a simulation of the machine, which
would be amazing to see in its own right), but according to this video [3], it
looks like they've built a neat webapp for the purpose of having a sort of
fourier synthesis playground.

Unfortunately, there's just the demo video, with no link to the site itself,
and searching turned up nothing. They may plan to release it later on in the
series.

[1] [http://vimeo.com/engineerguy/videos](http://vimeo.com/engineerguy/videos)

[2]
[http://vimeo.com/user17826495/videos](http://vimeo.com/user17826495/videos)

[3] [http://vimeo.com/101539582](http://vimeo.com/101539582)

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engineerguy
I had forgot about the Sum Some Sines .... that will come out ... it is a
program on the processing language that lets you play with adding sines. It
isn't a simulation of the machine, but it is fascinating and instructive. We
choose not to release it with the machine vids.

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theinternetftw
A note if you're not aware of it (though you probably are): processing has an
offshoot called processing.js [1].

That version can run most processing apps within the browser with no plugins
or setup, thus letting interested users just visit a link to use the app.

[1] [http://processingjs.org/](http://processingjs.org/)

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massiveHuge
That is amazing.

