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An abacus is not an analog computer. It operates using digits, as such is not analog computer and does not belong in this section. This mechanical calculator is also a digital computer (since it uses discrete digits to compute) |
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{{main|Mechanical computer}}
[[File:De-Te-We-mp3h0651.jpg|thumb|Hamann Manus R, a digital mechanical computer]]
Historically, [[mechanical computer]]s were used in industry before the advent of the [[transistor]].
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===Analog computing===
{{main|analog computer}}
An analog computer is a type of computer that uses ''[[analog signal]]s'', which are continuous physical quantities, to model and solve problems. These signals can be [[Electrical network|electrical]], [[Mechanics|mechanical]], or [[Hydraulics|hydraulic]] in nature. Analog computers were widely used in scientific and industrial applications, and were often faster than digital computers at the time. However, they started to become obsolete in the 1950s and 1960s and are now mostly used in specific applications such as aircraft flight simulators and teaching control systems in universities.<ref name="Johnston">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iPfU_powAgAC&q=%22through%20the%201980s%22&pg=PA90 | title=Holographic Visions: A History of New Science | publisher=OUP Oxford | author=Johnston, Sean F. | year=2006 | pages=90 | isbn=978-0191513886}}</ref> Examples of analog computing devices include [[slide rule]]s, [[nomogram]]s, and complex mechanisms for process control and protective relays.<ref name="9HtsB">{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/03/gears-of-war-when-mechanical-analog-computers-ruled-the-waves/|title=Gears of war: When mechanical analog computers ruled the waves|date=2014-03-18|access-date=2017-06-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908173957/https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/03/gears-of-war-when-mechanical-analog-computers-ruled-the-waves/|archive-date=2018-09-08|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Antikythera mechanism]], a mechanical device that calculates the positions of planets and the Moon, and the [[planimeter]], a mechanical integrator for calculating the area of an arbitrary 2D shape, are also examples of analog computing.
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