cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/4807979
Source: AKAT-1 Analogue Computer (by Bethany Fox - ArtStation):
An iconic Polish analog computer from the 60s made for my friends' awesome FMP set in a dystopian fascist museum
Authored at 4k. Has a clear screen that isn't shown in Painter since it displays opaque.The post only says "Reference picture", but I think it's the one at "Muzeum Techniki" in Warsaw, Poland:
https://flickr.com/photos/mwichary/2231616877/in/album-72157603823734926/More pictures from the museum on Marcin Wichary's Flickr album:
https://flickr.com/photos/mwichary/sets/72157603823734926/Some info from Jacek Karpiński's Wikipedia:
The breakthrough achievement of Karpiński's career was the construction of AKAT-1 in 1959 in co-operation with engineer Janusz Tomaszewski. AKAT-1 was a pioneering work – the world's first differential equations analyzer based on transistors. Karpiński built the device during his spell at the Polish Academy of Science's Institute of Automatics, where he found employment after the success of AAH. The aim of AKAT-1 was to simulate various complex dynamic processes like heat transfer or a shock absorber's mechanics. The innovativeness of the device was acknowledged by historians of computer science – e.g. Maciej Sysło claims it has to be conceded that Karpiński's effort preceded any other similar device. The construction was also lauded for its aesthetical merits – the panel designed by leading Polish artists – Emil Cieślar, Olgierd Rutkowski, Stanisław Siemek and Andrzej Wróblewski had been considered to 'innovatively merge all functions in a congruent and attractive form that anticipated the future trends'. The machine has been domestically welcomed warmly, having been covered by a host of country-wide media, including national television TVP1 and Polish Film Chronicle.
Analog computers are totally a thing though. My dad used to build them in engineering school.
They were not general purpose at all. They would be more aptly named simulators. You'd use discrete electric / electronic components - capacitors, inductors, transistors - to model a specific differential equation system. You'd use trimpots to modulate parameters in the equations and a square wave generator to to trigger the "calculation".
Output was in an oscilloscope, and you'd have to interpret that to figure out what that meant to your particular computation.