Monday, July 30, 2007

Binary Marble Adding Machine

We all know the old joke. There are 10 types of people. Those who understand binary and those who don't. Well I think I might have stumbled upon something that might help those folks who don't understand or at least have a problem visualising it. It's not quite Charles Babbage's Difference Engine, but some eccentric Canadian dude has built a 6 bit binary adding machine out of wood using marbles as the bits. It is really rather smart in that it actually isn't a million miles away from how a digital computer does it - obviously without the marbles! - but it is also a lovely bit of woodwork.

If you like this then you can visit the dudes Web Site where he explains exactly how he did it.

1 comment:

jwylie said...

As videos go, I like this one.
http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/kids-mess-with-railways-p1.php

It's amazing what you can do with a little spare time