| Home | Difference Machine |
Calculator | Resources |
|---|
The Difference Machine
About the Difference Machine
The difference machine is considered by most to be the first computer in the world, and was the first complete design for an automatic calculator.
The difference machine was a large, mechanical machine that was developed by Charles Babbage. It was used mainly to calculate and tabulate polynomial
functions automatically, and was designed to make no errors in the process. It could not perform multiplication or division, but used repeated addition
or subtraction in order to make up for this. The difference machine was designed to be
powered by steam and as large as a train. While Babbage had finished his designs in 1830, he never managed to finish building his machine due to the
limited funds. The machine was eventually finished in 1991.