Read about one of the early pioneers mentioned in this chapter or on the internet —Pascal, Leibnitz, Jacquard, Babbage, Lovelace, Hollerith, Eckert, Mauchly, Aiken, Zuse, Atanasoff, Turing, or Von Neumann. Homework help – Write a paper describing in detail that person’s contribution to computing and computer science.
Computer Sciences
Over the years, various pioneers have made great contributions towards the development of computer systems and other computer devices. Both men and women contributed to the development where most are famous while others hide their identity due to social pressure and strict laws according to (Avetisyan, Arutyun, and Sergei Prokhorov, page 3-5). The modern computer technology is a product of the pioneers who played an integral role in computer and computer science. Some of the pioneers include Neumann, Babbage, Lovelace, Hollerith, Eckert, Mauchly, Aiken and many more. The paper is research on the contributions made by Babbage in computer and computer science development.
Charles Babbage was a mathematician, polymath, mechanical engineer, and philosopher who was born in England and studied at Cambridge University. Babbage is known as the “father of the computer” because of inventing and devising the first mechanical computer (Lim, Shan, page 111-116). In 183 Babbage came up with a programmable machine that is currently the most influential today. Most of the modern computer devices have transformed over time since the development of the first computer by Babbage where the systems transformed into self-thinking and intelligent devices.
In the early 19th century, the idea of specialization was not in many universities, Charles Babbage as mathematician where manual mathematical tables were used for instance the logbooks. The manual mathematical tables were unreliable because the tables created inconsistent results and provided frequently varying values. Charles Babbage, therefore, was concerned and decided to convert the manual mathematical table into a mechanical product for accuracy.
In 1823 Charles Babbage made a machine that could calculate values automatically where the project was supported by the British government through funds (Lim, Shan, page 111-116). The machine was known as the different engine which was later improved in 1840 but due to insufficient funds, the project was not completed. The difference engine was accurately saved on time as well as money for most mathematicians.
Charles Babbage was determined to make the analytical machine that would be used for general-purpose computation but the project was unsuccessful. Charles opted to improve the deference engine No. 2 considered as the first mechanical computer system. The difference engine No.2 was a bit bulky but compared to the modern computer the basic concepts used are similar.
Additionally, after the invention in 1832, Babbage published a book “on the economy of machinery and manufacturer” which entailed the “Babbage principle” with the primary aim of discussing the importance of the division of labor in companies (Wolf, Laura, and Jim Collins, page 82-84). The difference machine is secured in a museum as a story of science. Babbage’s idea about the analytical engine never went to waste, Ada Lovelace was highly mentored by Babbage and decided to create plans on the analytical engine. Ada wrote about the engine and how codes could be used to handle symbols, numbers, and letters.
To sum up, the journey of computer and computer science began earlier since the late eighteen century to date. Pioneers in computer science played a major role especially in developing computer hardware and creating computer basic concepts used to date. Charles Babbage a mechanical engineer, philosopher and mathematician came up with the first computer which was bulky but with the same basic concept as modern computers. Charles Babbage made the first machine known as the difference engine with the ability to calculate values automatically compared to the manual mathematical table. The difference engine was then advanced and named as the first computer. Charles Babbage’s idea about the analytical machine was advanced and worked on by Ada Lovelace who wrote on how codes could be used to handle numbers, symbols, and letters.
Work Cited
Avetisyan, Arutyun, and Sergei Prokhorov. “70 years of ongoing innovations.” 2018 Ivannikov Ispras Open Conference (ISPRAS). IEEE, 2018. Page 3-5
Lim, Shan. “The Relationships among Human, Machine, and Thought in Charles Babbage’s Calculating Engines.” The journal of the convergence on culture technology 5.2 (2019): 111-116.
Wolf, Laura, and Jim Collins. “Merging the Machines of Modern Science.” Computing in Science & Engineering 19.5 (2017): 82-84.
