Interesting Esoterica

The ternary calculating machine of Thomas Fowler

Web page by Mark Glusker
  • Published in 1997
  • Added on
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.

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Other information

key
TheternarycalculatingmachineofThomasFowler
type
online
date_added
2017-06-22
date_published
1997-12-07

BibTeX entry

@online{TheternarycalculatingmachineofThomasFowler,
	key = {TheternarycalculatingmachineofThomasFowler},
	type = {online},
	title = {The ternary calculating machine of Thomas Fowler},
	author = {Mark Glusker},
	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 = {},
	date_added = {2017-06-22},
	date_published = {1997-12-07},
	urls = {http://www.mortati.com/glusker/fowler/index.htm},
	collections = {Basically computer science,History,Unusual arithmetic,Unusual computers,Integerology},
	url = {http://www.mortati.com/glusker/fowler/index.htm},
	urldate = {2017-06-22},
	year = 1997
}