[thatsme22]

do all the programmable machines require electricity to run? why?

[DarkX411]

Because your computer sends data using electrons?

Not a clue how a computer works actually....

This post has been edited by DarkX411: 30 May 2010 - 08:48 AM

[modi123_1]

I would say you need 'electrical current' not just electricity. If you made that current via some steam powered or hydro then sure...

[calvinthedestroyer]

There are a lot of machine that programmable that do not use electricity. Just look at an abacus.

ok, well a wind up music box.

[AdamSpeight2008]

Not all programmable machine require electricity.
See: Jacquard Loom
Analytical Engine

[modi123_1]

I heard iPads run on the power of Smug! zing!

[RedSon]

Here is another example:

http://media.omediaw...htm?speaker=4_2

The Mythbusters' cryptex.

[Kilorn]

Whether the object requires electricity or not, the "machine" will always have to have some sort of power, be it electrical current, or you sitting down and pushing a pedal up and down that operates gears that perform some task, or even springs wound up that are designed to slowly release their energy to drive or operate some sort of mechanism

This post has been edited by Kilorn: 03 June 2010 - 09:02 AM

[r.stiltskin]

Turing machines don't need any power.

[MentalFloss]

http://www.dreaminco...1&#entry1031124

I think it's time for that history lesson I alluded to in that thread.

DarkX411 said:

Not a clue how a computer works actually....

I know I won't do this true justice, but I'll give it a shot anyway.

So, any time anyone talks about computers, the terms bytes and bits generally quickly enter the discussion. It's pretty common knowledge that computers work in binary. The part that isn't common knowledge is why?

Samuel Morse invented something called a telegraph. It allowed communication over a wire via electrical pulses. When it reached the end of the line, there was another device called a sounder which provided a representation of those electrical pulses. So, he eventually devised a code system - Morse Code that mapped a series of these pulse intervals to letters.

Anyway, with this system, communication was possible but over certain distances, the signal is too weak. It was decided to create relay stations. These relay stations would receive the incoming messages and re-send them to the target destination. These relay stations were unmanned. This is where things get interesting.

So, the relay station used something called a solenoid. When you wrap a wire around a cylinder and pass a current through it, you get an electromagnetic field. When there is current, a lever is pulled down by the magnetic field to make contact and complete the circuit. When there is no current, it is released and the circuit is open.

Binary had already been discovered but it took quite a bit of ingenuity to realize that this relay station represented two states - ON and OFF. This means that a single relay (which is just a single electrical component) represents 1 bit of information.

If you can represent a single bit of information with one relay, then adding another relay adds another bit of information. So, with 8 relays, you can represent 256 possible values or 2^8. No one ever actually built a relay computer, but the idea was there. Eventually there was tube technology and transistors but conceptually, it's all based on whether or not a particular unit is receiving current.

The other big discovery was logic gates. With this, we can take a number of inputs and based in what was input, come up with a reproduceable output. With a configuration of logic gates, we're well on our way to what a computer is.

When it comes to computers, there's two main parts - the ALU or arithmetic logic unit and the PC or program counter. The PC cycles at a given frequency. This is dependent on how fast the relay (just sticking to terms - not really a relay) can transition from off to on to off again. This is measured in cycles per second or hertz.

Anyway, when you work in strictly binary, the information gets really long really quickly. In order to shorten this, we started using base 16 or hexadecimal notation. This allows us to represent 4 bits as one hex digit or 8 bits as 2.

This too was far too cumbersome so they created reserved values to mean specific things. For example, 0F might mean to add and 1F might mean to subtract and so on.

Working in straight machine code like that is quite cumbersome. You need to reference a table and figure out which one you want. So, they created vocabulary for these reserved instructions. These could be fed into a program that translated their decided vocabulary back into machine code. This machine code could then be ran as normal.

Now 0F could be represented as ADD and 1F can be represented as SUB and so on. You will know this as assembly if you're familiar with it.

Well, as it were, assembly was just the start. It was quickly realized that many op codes were being used in the same combinations often enough that there should be a way to reference all of them as a group. So, the next generation of programming languages are born and they come with functions and more user friendly language.

I think that's enough information for you to get started with researching specific aspects.

To the purists, I hope I didn't butcher that too much for you.

To the neophytes, be sure to research on your own. The history of computers is incredible and it's amazing it all started with a seemingly mundane device - the relay.

OH and sorry I didn't answer OP's question exactly... others already did so I left it up for grabs.

Take care.

[Kilorn]

That was a great read, MentalFloss. Even for those of us who already know all of that, I still found it to be very informative and somehow entertaining. Good job.

[xympa]

i agree that was very informative and entertaining.

[debjit625]

thatsme22, on 30 May 2010 - 06:48 PM, said:

do all the programmable machines require electricity to run? why?

No,because any machines do work and by the laws of phy.. (Work done = Force * Distance )
,so it needs energy to do work and this energy may come in any form like electricity,heat,light,etc.Now for programmable machines it also do the same i.e work but in a pre-configured way ,which can also be change later,for example water valves which only permits water to flow in one direction and it do use of energy in form of force of the water molecules rather than electricity.

Good Luck

[baavgai]

MentalFloss, on 04 June 2010 - 01:08 AM, said:

I think it's time for that history lesson I alluded to in that thread.

I prefer less modern history.

Ada Lovelace is considered by many to be the world's first programmer. In 1842 she translated into English, and heavily annotated, an Italian manuscript describing Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine. Babbage's machine is considered, if not the first "computer," then it's precursor.

Centuries prior to Babbage, the amazing astronomical clocks laid the ground work for future thinking machines. Notably, the famous Castle Clock of Al-Jazari ( think Muslim da Vinci ). Al-Jazari's clock, described in 1206, could be "reprogrammed" to adjust for Heavenly drift.

The binary system is modernly described by Gottfried Leibniz in the 17th century. He was probably aware of the I-Ching, a more ancient example of binary math in action. Prior to Leibniz, Renaissance man Francis Bacon discuses the use of binary numbers in cyphers.

So, to the OP, the answer is no. Though, of course, it does depend on what you consider a programmable machine.

[mostyfriedman]

baavgai, on 23 June 2010 - 12:51 AM, said:

the famous Castle Clock of Al-Jazari ( think Muslim da Vinci ). Al-Jazari's clock, described in 1206, could be "reprogrammed" to adjust for Heavenly drift.

I love Al Jazari's work, he was a genius engineer in my opinion.

This post has been edited by mostyfriedman: 23 June 2010 - 11:32 PM