The Analytical Machine

The analytical machine is the earliest iteration of the modern computer. Created in the 19th century by Charles Babbage in England it was originally meant for complex computations. But many other devices that have been used for calculations have been dubbed “computers”, what made Babbage’s computer different from the rest of the “computers” was that it utilized a brand-new energy source known as electricity.

The analytical machine has four major components: the mill, the store, the reader, and the printer. They are the more primitive versions of components used in computers today. The mill is what does the heavy lifting, the computations needed for the computer. The store is where data is held before processing. It is like the primary storage in a modern-day computer otherwise known as Random Access Memory (RAM). Just like the store, RAM computes things that need to be done quickly instead of storing memory long-term. The mill can be compared to the Central Processing Unit (CPU). Then there are the reader and printer which can be seen as the input and output devices respectively. The reader would be the modern analog to the mouse and keyboard, while the printer would be the modern analog of the computer screen or monitor.

Although there are many similar components between the first digital computers and your windows PC there are many more improvements in modern-day computers. For example, there is a secondary storage unit that holds things for a long time, unlike the analytical machine which cannot hold any information unless it is going to be computed.