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One of the World’s Oldest Calculators Was Up for Auction. Then, Scientists Rallied and Temporarily Blocked Its Sale

French scholars argued that the 17th-century Pascaline should go to a public collection and stay within the country. But a Paris court may take months to make a final decision on the device’s fate

by Margherita Bassi

smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/…

Origin of modern calculating machines by J. A. V. Turck at PG:
gutenberg.org/ebooks/69386

#books #calculating_machines

Photo of a 'Pascaline', the mechanical calculator invented and manufactured by French scientist Blaise Pascal between 1642 and 1652. Pascaline made for French currency which once belonged to Louis Perrier, Pascal's nephew. The least significant denominations, sols and deniers, are on the right The machine is a rectangular brass box with a row of circular dials set into its top surface. Each dial has a central window displaying a numeral and is surrounded by a toothed wheel marked with digits. The wheels increase in size from right to left, reflecting the denomination system: the least significant units—sols and deniers—are on the right, with larger currency units to the left. Small metal tabs or spoked pointers allow the user to rotate each wheel, triggering the internal gear mechanism that performs addition (and limited subtraction). The front edge of the device shows slots and indicator openings related to the carry mechanism. From J. A. V. Turck (1921) Origin of Modern Calculating Machines, Western Society of Engineers, Chicago, USA, p.10, fig.1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascaline#/media/File:Pascaline_calculator_front.png

One of the World’s Oldest Calculators Was Up for Auction. Then, Scientists Rallied and Temporarily Blocked Its Sale

Margherita Bassi (Smithsonian Magazine)
#books #calculating_machines

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