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calculator

(Encyclopedia)calculator or calculating machine, device for performing numerical computations; it may be mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic. The electronic computer is also a calculator but performs other...

Lovelace, Ada

(Encyclopedia)Lovelace, Ada (Augusta Ada King-Noel, Countess of Lovelace), 1815–1852, English mathematician, b. London as Augusta Ada Byron. The daughter of the poet Lord Byron and Anne Isabella Milbanke, she was...

slide rule

(Encyclopedia)slide rule, instrument for making numerical computations and readings, the results of which may be read easily and quickly after performing simple mechanical manipulations. Multiplication and division...

liquid crystal

(Encyclopedia)liquid crystal, liquid whose component particles, atoms or molecules, tend to arrange themselves with a degree of order far exceeding that found in ordinary liquids and approaching that of solid cryst...

digital-to-analog conversion

(Encyclopedia)digital-to-analog or D/A conversion, the process of changing discrete digital data into a continuously varying signal in relation to a standard or reference. There are two types of converters: electro...

Tinguely, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Tinguely, Jean zhäN tăNglēˈ [key], 1925–91, Swiss artist. Tinguely is best known for his “metamechanics,” electromechanical sculptures that perform tasks such as painting or playing music. M...

parimutuel betting

(Encyclopedia)parimutuel betting părˌĭmyo͞oˈtyo͞oĕl [key], system of cooperative wagering invented (c.1870) in France by Pierre Oller. According to the system, the holders of winning tickets divide the total...

relay

(Encyclopedia)relay, electromechanical switch operated by a flow of electricity in one circuit and controlling the flow of electricity in another circuit. A relay consists basically of an electromagnet with a soft ...

Wiener, Norbert

(Encyclopedia)Wiener, Norbert, 1894–1964, American mathematician, educator, and founder of the field of cybernetics, b. Columbia, Mo., grad. Tufts College, 1909, Ph.D. Harvard, 1913. In 1920 he joined the faculty...
 

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