Take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to see and hear a brand new Charles Babbage Difference Engine in action. Join us in discussion with Nathan Myhrvold, who commissioned the building of this engine, and Doron Swade, who completed the first Babbage Engine in 2002 from Babbage's original plans.
Exhibited for the first time in North America, this Babbage Difference Engine No. 2, the second of only two ever built, is a stunning display of Victorian mechanics and an arresting spectacle of automatic computing. The Engine consists of 8,000 parts of bronze, cast iron and steel, weighs five tons and measures eleven feet long and seven feet high.
Charles Babbage (1791-1871) is known as the visionary innovator whose designs for his vast mechanical calculating engines rank as one of the startling achievements of the 19th century. Babbage’s Difference Engine No. 2, designed in the 1840’s, but never built, is monumental in logical conception, physical size, and intricacy.
Join Myhrvold and Swade as they discuss Charles Babbage, the importance of his work, and why they are passionate about bringing this startling display of elegant design and inspired engineering to the world.
The Babbage Exhibit is made possible through the generosity of the following donors: Nathan Myhrvold, Andreas Bechtolsheim, Bell Family Trust, Donna Dubinsky & Len Shustek, Judy Estrin, Fry’s Electronics - Kathryn Kolder, Dorrit & F. Grant Saviers, Marva & John Warnock, and special thanks to Science Museum, London.
Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Boulevard
Mountain View,
CA,
94043
