Differential analyser

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The differential analyser was a mechanical analog computer designed to solve differential equations by integration, using wheel-and-disc mechanisms to perform the integration. It was one of the first advanced computing devices to be used operationally.

The analyser was invented in 1876 by James Thomson, brother of Lord Kelvin. A practical version was first constructed by H. W. Nieman and Vannevar Bush starting in 1927 at MIT. They published a full report on the device in 1931. D. R. Hartree of Manchester University brought the design to England, where he constructed his first model in 1934. Over the next five years three more were added, at Cambridge University, Queen's University Belfast, and the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough. Another was constructed some years later at the University of Toronto, but it appears it saw little or no use.

The differential analyser was used in the development of the bouncing bomb, used to attack German hydroelectric dams during World War II. Differential analysers have also been used in the calculation of soil erosion by river control authorities. It was eventually rendered obsolete by electronic analog computers and later digital computers.

More recently, building differential analysers out of Meccano has become a popular project among serious Meccano hobbyists.

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