# The ternary calculating machine of Thomas Fowler

• Published in 1997
A large, wooden calculating machine was built in 1840 by Thomas Fowler in his workshop in Great Torrington, Devon, England. In what may have been one of the first uses of lower bases for computing machinery, Fowler chose balanced ternary to represent the numbers in his machine. Very little evidence of this machine has survived.

### BibTeX entry

@online{TheternarycalculatingmachineofThomasFowler,
title = {The ternary calculating machine of Thomas Fowler},
author = {Mark Glusker},
url = {http://www.mortati.com/glusker/fowler/index.htm},
urldate = {2017-06-22},
abstract = {A large, wooden calculating machine was built in 1840 by Thomas Fowler in his workshop in Great Torrington, Devon, England. In what may have been one of the first uses of lower bases for computing machinery, Fowler chose balanced ternary to represent the numbers in his machine. Very little evidence of this machine has survived.},
comment = {},
year = 1997,
collections = {Basically computer science,History,Unusual arithmetic,Unusual computers,Integerology}
}