Analog superpowers

by Katherine C. Epstein

ISBN: 9780226831220

Published: 2024

"The technology at the center of this book marks a milestone in computing history. Until the late nineteenth century, naval gun crews aimed and fired at virtually point-blank ranges, but as warship speeds and battle ranges grew, it became necessary to predict where the target would be when a projectile landed. Two British civilian inventors, Arthur Pollen and Harold Isherwood, insisted that the only way to predict with sufficient speed and accuracy to enable hits in battle was to incorporate all the relevant variables into mathematical equations and to develop instruments for solving them instantaneously and continuously. This insight led them to build an integrated, gyro-stabilized system for gathering data, calculating predictions, and transmitting the results to the gunners. At the heart of their system was the most advanced analog computer of the day. In addition to being a landmark technological achievement, Pollen and Isherwood's invention also took on legal significance. Its...