Off-topic video: A 19th century mechanical computer that performs Fourier analysis
On this Veteran's Day I'm exercising my benign dictatorial control of these lists to offer a fascinating off-topic video just posted by the Univ. of Illinois about a veteran computer. It was originally created in the late 19th century -- Albert Michelson's Harmonic Analyzer (yes, that's "speed of light" Michelson). When he tired of doing Fourier transforms by hand, he built this machine that was later commercialized. It's nothing short of incredible. The video is the first of four newly available that discuss and demonstrate various aspects of this device. I love stuff like this. Enjoy: (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAsM30MAHLg --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren Founder: - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy I am a consultant to Google -- I speak only for myself, not for them. Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com _______________________________________________ pfir mailing list http://lists.pfir.org/mailman/listinfo/pfir
