[HN Gopher] A brief history of liquid computers (2019)
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       A brief history of liquid computers (2019)
        
       Author : adrian_mrd
       Score  : 19 points
       Date   : 2024-07-07 18:21 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (royalsocietypublishing.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (royalsocietypublishing.org)
        
       | Harmohit wrote:
       | If we define a computer in very broad terms: a system used to
       | emulate/simulate another system, could we call a wind tunnel a
       | computer? It is a system that is used to infer what would happen
       | high up in the atmosphere or on the race track. Taking it a step
       | further, do animals used for drug testing count as computers?
       | They are used to infer any potential adverse effects in a human
       | body.
       | 
       | Although quite specialized, I think these things would still
       | classify as a computer.
        
         | GTP wrote:
         | I think it would make more sense to limit the analysis to
         | technologies that let you build a Turing-complete machine, but
         | indeed sometimes you find people counting your examples as
         | computers, because they are computing a specific function.
        
           | OscarCunningham wrote:
           | That's assuming that wind tunnels are not Turning-complete.
           | Terry Tao has this fantastic idea of proving the Navier-
           | Stokes equations blow up by proving the existence of a 'fluid
           | computer'.
           | https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2019/05/31/searching-for-
           | sing...
        
       | zzbn00 wrote:
       | On a quick scan does not seem to mention mercury delay lines
       | which were a liquid memory technology commonly used in early days
       | of electronic computing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay-
       | line_memory#Mercury_dela... .
       | 
       | Photo of what the system in Cambridge UK with Maurice Wilkes next
       | to it:
       | 
       | https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/memory-storage/8/...
        
         | avmich wrote:
         | Not sure if mercury delay lines qualify as liquid computers
         | here, do they work without electricity involved?
        
       | bloopernova wrote:
       | Quickly skimmed the paper, I didn't see this economy modeling
       | computer:
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_Machine?wprov=sfla1
        
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       (page generated 2024-07-07 23:00 UTC)