Excelsior10000
13 HN recommenders · recommended in 17 months, 2014–2025
41:53 · 483K views · Jul 13, 2011
A 1953 US Navy training film explaining the basic mechanisms in mechanical fire control computers aboard ships. It shows how gears, differentials and cams solved mathematical problems in permanent mechanical form.
HN commenters repeatedly recommend it as a beautiful, approachable explanation of analog mechanical computation, and many have rewatched it.
20 comments from Hacker News
this video This is an old military instructional video about fire (artillery) control computers, explaining the mechanical aspects of how they work. It's beautiful in its elegance! I have watched it on multiple occasions just for the sheer beauty of the mechanisms involved. And, yes, of course I'm a nerd!
Everyone reading this right now needs to check out this 1950s naval training video on the mechanical fire control computers of battleships: this video For fun, before you watch, think for yourself how you'd implement addition, multiplication, squaring, etc. with only gears and other mechanisms.
I did not see any link to the full training video[0] the clips in this article were taken from. I highly recommend it. It's a fascinating trip into engineering, computing, and the past. [0] this video
The whole training film on mechanical computers, for navy mechanics I believe: this video It illustrates the problems and solutions near perfectly, and I've watched it way too many times.
I just smile hearing the term "Millihertz Computer". I'd love it if building and designing mechanical and analog computers grew as a hobby/educational activity as I find them both fascinating and somehow satisfying. Also, this 1950s Naval Training film explaining the fundamentals of how mechanical fire control computers work to solve complex problems is excellent. this video