Mechanical Calculation
This exhibit area contains many example of mechanically operated devices for assisting in calculating mathematical problems. From the earliest classical-era geared devices, to complex instruments that would remain unsurpassed until the age of the transistor.
Antikithera Mechanism (Replica)
A working wooden replica of the Antikythera Mechanism, a 1st century BCE device used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses. The original was discovered in a long-lost shipwreck off the Greek Island, Antikythera in 1900.
Believed to be the only device of its kind, no mechanical calculation devices would would emerge in Europe for over a millennium afterwards.
Thacher 4012 Slide Rule
Originally Patented in 1891, the high precision slide made by Thacher was able to produce results correctly to 4 or even 5 figures.
Normal slide rules are about 5 to 10 inches long, but the 4012 was a massive 30 feet in total. Instead of having one giant slide rule, it was divided into sections so that the operator could rotate it to perform calculations.
Curta Calculator
The original Curta calculator was invented and patented by Curt Herzstark in 1938. Herzstark was a watchmaker’s apprentice, and put his skills to use designing a handheld mechanical calculator design with over 600 interacting parts.
Continuing to be developed for multiple years afterwards, Curta calculators were regarded as the pinnacle of portable calculation until the introduction of the electronic calculators of the 1970s
Comptometer
Dorr E. Felt built the prototype of a key-driven calculating machine using a wooden macaroni box as a case in 1885. After receiving a patent in 1887, he founded the Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Co. and began to sell the first production Comptometers.
The Comptometer was the first commercially successful key-driven mechanical calculator. It was especially fast for it’s day thanks to a design that allowed multiple simultaneous key press inputs.