From the Archive
By Science News
February 13, 1937 | Vol. 31 | No. 827
Robot Mathematician Solves Nine Simultaneous Equations
A ONE-TON machine that in a single action can solve nine simultaneous equations with nine unknowns so complicated in form they might well require days of laborious computation by trained mathematicians has been developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Known as the simultaneous calculator, the machine is the product of three years’ research by Dr. John B. Wilbur of the department of civil engineering. Cooperating with him has been Dr. Vannevar Bush, vice-president of technology and dean of engineering, who under the Institute’s program to eliminate delay and complications in engineering and research, has previously made important contributions to the mechanical solution of mathematical problems, including the famous differential analyzer. The simultaneous linear algebraic equations solved by the new machine occur constantly over a wide range of engineering and scientific analyses. Thus although the calculator was originally designed for the solution of problems in civil engineering, such as those involved in the construction of skyscrapers, it is expected to prove equally useful in such diverse fields as nuclear physics, geodetic surveying, genetics and psychology. The mathematician will be able to use it for the evaluation of determinants especially and in several other fields, since the machine under some circumstances can solve for even more than nine unknowns. The machine weighs approximately 2,000 pounds and has more than 13,000 separate parts, induding 600 feet of flexible steel tape and almost 1000 ballbearing pulleys.