Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Jaeger, Lars

Titel

Ada Lovelace (1815–1852): Inventor of Computer Algorithms

Ist Teil von

• Women of Genius in Science, 2023, p.71-82

Ort / Verlag

Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Since ancient times, people have been striving to simplify and speed up arithmetical calculation. As shown by the cargo of a Roman shipwreck discovered off the Aegean coast in 1900, far more elaborate machines were used alongside counting boards and abacuses. Besides the spectacular art treasures recovered, a corroded metal lump remained unnoticed for a long time. It was not until the middle of the twentieth century that it became apparent that it was an 82-piece machine made of gears, axles, and other mechanical components. Through certain presettings and the turning of a hand crank, the machine, built around the year 120 BC, was able to perform the most complicated astronomical calculations.