Meccano differential analyser, 1947
- maker:
- Meccano Limited and
- Douglas Rayner Hartree
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
This image is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
Main part of a working model of a differential analyser constructed from the construction toy, Meccano, made by
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Main part of a working model of a differential analyser constructed from the construction toy, Meccano, made by
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Main part of a working model of a differential analyser constructed from the construction toy, Meccano, made by
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Main part of a working model of a differential analyser constructed from the construction toy, Meccano, made by
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Main part of a working model of a differential analyser constructed from the construction toy, Meccano, made by
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Main part of a working model of a differential analyser constructed from the construction toy, Meccano, made by
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Main part of a working model of a differential analyser constructed from the construction toy, Meccano, made by
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Main part of a working model of a differential analyser constructed from the construction toy, Meccano, made by
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Main part of a working model of a differential analyser constructed from the construction toy, Meccano, made by
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Main part of a working model of a differential analyser constructed from the construction toy, Meccano, made by
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Working model of a differential analyser constructed from the construction toy, Meccano, by Prof. Douglas Rayner Hartree and Arthur Porter at University of Manchester, England, 1934, and reconstructed by Prof. Douglas Rayner Hartree at University of Cambridge, England, 1947.
A differential analyser is an analogue computer designed to solve equations using a wheel and disk mechanism. This model was built using the toy Meccano over 18 months by research student Arthur Porter. Porter was working under the supervision of Professor Douglas Rayner Hartree (1897-1958), a professor of theoretical physics, who was waiting for a full-size analyser to be built. Although it needed setting and operating by hand, the machine was able to solve difficult equations.
Details
- Category:
- Mathematics
- Object Number:
- 1949-134
- Materials:
- meccano, metal (unknown), wood (unidentified)
- type:
- model - representation
- taxonomy:
-
- visual and verbal communication
- credit:
- Donated by Richard Hartree
Cite this page
Rights
We encourage the use and reuse of our collection data.
Data in the title, made, maker and details fields are released under Creative Commons Zero
Descriptions and all other text content are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence
Download
Download catalogue entry as json
Download 
manifest IIIF
Our records are constantly being enhanced and improved, but please note that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information shown on this website.
