Pascaline
The Pascaline is one of the first Calculatrice S mechanics. She was invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642.
She could not carry out that Addition S. the Soustraction S are obtained by a technique of nines complement to carry out them thanks to additions. The complementation uses a system of double posting which makes it possible to select a number or its nines complement.
Pascaline was intended to solve problems of arithmetic commercial. Several versions are manufactured and at least fifty built specimens. Its marketing was at the time a failure because of its price of 100 delivers S.
Pascal sent of it a specimen to the Reine of Sweden, accompanied by a letter which was preserved: Letter in Sérénissime Queen of Sweden (June 1652). Pascal joint with this sending a speech in M. of Bourdelot where he explains “all the history of this work, the object of his invention, the occasion of his research, the utility of his springs, the difficulties of his execution, the degrees of his progress, the success of his achievement and the rules of his use”.
In 1673, Leibniz improves it to make it able to carry out multiplications, by a system of wheels cog serving as “memory”.
Some say that Pascaline knew one period of glory in the years 1960 of internal use in the company IBM, which would have made some manufacture. It was then indeed the only cheap device making it possible to very quickly carry out calculations in hexadecimal notation, as the analysis required it after execution of the programs of the time.
An original specimen is exposed, with Paris, the Musée of arts and trades. Two original specimens are presented to the natural history museum of Henri-Lecoq natural history to Clermont-Ferrand, one for the numerary accounts (bases 10 of them) and the other for the monetary accounts (bases S 20, 12 and 10).
External bond
- Natural history museum of Henri-Lecoq natural history.
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