At one time a scientist or engineer trying to solve a tough problem with electronic computation had the choice of an analog computer, a digital computer, or both together in a hybrid configuration.

The rapidly-improving speed and versatility of digital computers has mostly driven analogue computers out of use in modern systems, as has the relative difficulty of programming an analogue computer.

The ancient question of whether or not it’s possible to construct a circle with the same area as a given square using only a drawing compass and straightedge was finally answered in 1882, where it was ...

My first job out of college was testing and debugging control loading systems on flight simulators for 747 and the “new” 767 airliners. In the late 1970s, the control loop that simulated the feel of ...

(Nanowerk Spotlight) The pursuit of faster and more efficient computing has been a driving force in technological progress for decades. As the demand for computational power continues to grow, ...

Just recently, I received a note from Professor Yannis Tsividis of Columbia University, who happened to read a blog I wrote in 2007 on analog computers. In that blog, I ended by saying that “I ...

The distinction between analog and digital signals is very simple, but it can still be a challenge to wrap one's mind around the concepts that define the two systems. Just when you think you've got it ...