Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 37, No. 333.
        Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
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        Date: 2023-12-02 15:58:23+00:00
        From: Doron Swade <doron.swade@blueyonder.co.uk>
        Subject: Babbage Engine - Full Technical Description on Open Access

Dear All

I am pleased to report that the full technical description of Charles
Babbage’s Difference Engine No. 2 has recently been made available
online on open access by the Science Museum (London).

The Engine was built to Babbage’s original drawings (1847-1849) and
completed in 2002. It has 8,000 parts, weighs 5 tonnes, and works as
Babbage intended. It is the first of Babbage’s calculating engines to be
built in its entirety.

Over the decades-long life of the project I documented the
interpretation of the 19^th -century drawings, the design decisions made
in its construction, its assembly, operational debugging, and what was
learned from running the Engine for countless live public demonstrations.

A full description of the Engine is presented in two works available online:

/Difference Engine No.2 Technical Description/
<https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/DE2_Technical_Description.pdf>
(232 pages, 131 illustrations)

Provides a detailed interpretation of Babbage’s design, and documents
the technical understanding that informed the successful construction of
the working machine.

/Difference Engine No.2 User Manual/
<https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-08/User_Manual_PDF_Vsn_1.1_Final_SEC1.pdf>
(147 pages, 199 illustrations)

           Documents the practical procedures for operating the Engine
safely, setting up a calculation, testing, trouble-shooting,
fault-finding, and maintenance including lubrication.

The two documents are free-standing i.e. relevant drawing-excerpts are
embedded in the text so that understanding does not, for the most part,
rely on reference to the full 19^th -century design drawings.

Direct Browser Links: 

Technical Description:
<https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/DE2_Technical_Description.pdf>

User Manual:
<https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-08/User_Manual_PDF_Vsn_1.1_Final_SEC1.pdf>

Additional Material

The Babbage Papers at the Science Museum:
<https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/documents/aa110000003/the-babbage-papers>

Digitised archive of Babbage papers including full technical archive and Notebooks.
<https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/documents/aa110000003/the-babbage-papers>

Charles Babbage’s Difference Engines and the Science Museum | Science
Museum
<https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-difference-engines-and-science-museum>

   * _Short contextual and historical summary. _
   * _Links to the /Technical Description/ and /User Manual /are in
     Further Reading._

<https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-
difference-engines-and-science-museum>_

Citation:

Swade, Doron, /Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2: Technical
Description/. Science Museum, 2023.

Swade Doron, /Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2: User Manual/.
Science Museum, 2023.

Best wishes

Doron Swade


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