[SIGCIS-Members] Babbage Engine - Full Technical Description on Open Access

[Brian Randell]

Hi Doron:

Many thanks – and congratulations, on a truly wonderful project, and now this splendid documentation.

Cheers

Brian

—

School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG
EMAIL = Brian.Randell at ncl.ac.uk   PHONE = +44 191 208 7923
URL =  https://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/staff/profile/brianrandell.html

On 02/12/2023, 15:01, "Members" <members-bounces at lists.sigcis.org> wrote:

Dear All

I am pleased to report that the full technical description of Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine No. 2 has recently been made available online on open access by the Science Museum (London).

The Engine was built to Babbage’s original drawings (1847-1849) and completed in 2002. It has 8,000 parts, weighs 5 tonnes, and works as Babbage intended. It is the first of Babbage’s calculating engines to be built in its entirety.

Over the decades-long life of the project I documented the interpretation of the 19th-century drawings, the design decisions made in its construction, its assembly, operational debugging, and what was learned from running the Engine for countless live public demonstrations.

A full description of the Engine is presented in two works available online:

Difference Engine No.2 Technical Description <https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/DE2_Technical_Description.pdf><https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/DE2_Technical_Description.pdf%3e> (232 pages, 131 illustrations)
Provides a detailed interpretation of Babbage’s design, and documents the technical understanding that informed the successful construction of the working machine.

Difference Engine No.2 User Manual <https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-08/User_Manual_PDF_Vsn_1.1_Final_SEC1.pdf><https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-08/User_Manual_PDF_Vsn_1.1_Final_SEC1.pdf%3e> (147 pages, 199 illustrations)
Documents the practical procedures for operating the Engine safely, setting up a calculation, testing, trouble-shooting, fault-finding, and maintenance including lubrication.

The two documents are free-standing i.e. relevant drawing-excerpts are embedded in the text so that understanding does not, for the most part, rely on reference to the full 19th-century design drawings.

Direct Browser Links:
Technical Description:
https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/DE2_Technical_Description.pdf <https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/DE2_Technical_Description.pdf><https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/DE2_Technical_Description.pdf%3e>
User Manual:
https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-08/User_Manual_PDF_Vsn_1.1_Final_SEC1.pdf <https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-08/User_Manual_PDF_Vsn_1.1_Final_SEC1.pdf><https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-08/User_Manual_PDF_Vsn_1.1_Final_SEC1.pdf%3e>

Additional Material

The Babbage Papers at the Science Museum: <https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/documents/aa110000003/the-babbage-papers><https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/documents/aa110000003/the-babbage-papers%3e>

* Digitised archive of Babbage papers including full technical archive and Notebooks.
https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/documents/aa110000003/the-babbage-papers <https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/documents/aa110000003/the-babbage-papers><https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/documents/aa110000003/the-babbage-papers%3e>

Charles Babbage’s Difference Engines and the Science Museum | Science Museum <https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum><https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum%3e>

* Short contextual and historical summary.
* Links to the Technical Description and User Manual are in Further Reading.
https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum <https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum><https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum%3e>

Citation:
Swade, Doron, Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2: Technical Description. Science Museum, 2023.
Swade Doron, Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2: User Manual. Science Museum, 2023.

Best wishes
Doron Swade





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