Physical Computation - Study
Researching into the history of Computers, I found a long list of notable figures and their inventions. At the very beginning of this list is a man named John Napier, who invented a system of moveable rods (Napier’s Rods) based on logarithms. A system that allowed him to multiply, divide and calculate square and cube roots. He had a need to calculate large numbers and decided use exponential form to make this possible. I.E 2^3 = 8, 2^4 = 16. This is before electricity became part of the toolkit of man, so it had to be a physical object that would allow him to operate.
Above is the original 1614 Napier’s Rods. You can see an inkling of how this form has impacted the various examples we were given in class, and how fundamentally the mechanical operation remains similar.
To give an idea of how Napier’s Rods works, there are numbers on the Left and Right, and Rods that move vertically. These rods allow you to calculate the solution by reading them in totality in binary. Once the rods have been used to add, divide, or multiply you can read off the end result with the toolkit delivered.
Above is a picture from a youtube video that explains how this system can be used to calculate large numbers.
The main thing that I’ve learned by looking into John Napier’s Rods is that large figures can be represented in simple terms using logarithms and exponential form. An astronomical event could be illustrated in 10 panels, or the total time of the universe in 50 (An Exaggeration). This could be something worth investing time into for Assignment 2.
