AngusThermopyle Posted November 9, 2008 Report Posted November 9, 2008 (edited) Since this is the science and technology section I though I'd mention this device. Have any of you seen or heard of this before? The story behind its development is fascinating and would almost read like fiction except ot isn't. The way the story goes is that Curt Herzstark was a POW in a German camp during WWII, as such he wasn't supposed to live out the war but instead suffer the same fate as so many others. However, apparently the German camp commander became aware of his rare combination of Mathematical skills and exceptional abilities in the field of Mechanical Engineering and decided he had a use for him. The commander and several of his peers decided they would like to give Hitler a unique gift at wars end, you know, when they'd won. What could make a better gift than a one of a kind calculator that you could put in your pocket? So Curt was allowed to live and continue work on his device. The speculation being that had he completed it before the wars end he would have become worthless to the Germans and would have suffered the same fate as so many others in the camps. Fortunately the war ended before it was complete and the Allies won, The reason it wasn't finished on time is because he dragged his heels and delayed its completion, I guess anyone would if the completion of the device was also the measure of the life remaining to them. Most likely its very fortunate for the rest of us that he did drag his heels on this. German Engineers had a reputation (rightly earned) for being the finest engineers on the planet, at wars end it was discovered that they were far advanced over the Allies in many areas of technology. If they had obtained this device for their use there is no telling how swiftly their development would have advanced and what new areas of development it would have spawned, though it is speculated that this small insignificant little machine could have had a major influence on the course of the war. That actually makes a great deal of sense, they were already advanced over the allies and had quite a few advanced experimental systems on the drawing board. If they had had the means to complete all their calculations five to ten times faster than normal with great accuracy then most likely it would have become a major factor in the war, another goal like the Enigma machine, something that must be captured at all costs. Anyway, I find the whole subject fascinating. From the way he used the device to help insure his survival to its huge potential to influence world affairs at that time. Here's a link to a page with lots of good pictures of the device. The Curta Calculator Here's another link to a video showing just how the Curta was operated. Next we should start a thread about the Babbage Analytical Engine. Charles Babbage is credited with designing the first computer back in 1847. It would make calculations, create a hard copy for long term storage and also print out a hard copy of results for compilation into tables. A truly amazing device for the time it was designed. It just goes to show that brilliance remains brilliance no matter what period of time it exists in. Edited November 9, 2008 by AngusThermopyle Quote I yam what I yam - Popeye
Wilber Posted November 19, 2008 Report Posted November 19, 2008 The Curta was standard equipment for all serious rally navigators before electronic calculators came into common use. Quote "Never trust a man who has not a single redeeming vice". WSC
White Doors Posted November 19, 2008 Report Posted November 19, 2008 Good stuff Angus. I checked it out in Wikipedia. God love that place. He was transferred to a factory next to the camp to work on the calculator. That factory was named after a swiss nazi... Clicked on him, he was assasinated by David Frankfurter. clicked on him and read his story. great stuff. Quote Those Dern Rednecks done outfoxed the left wing again.~blueblood~
Riverwind Posted November 19, 2008 Report Posted November 19, 2008 I checked it out in Wikipedia. God love that place.Only for non-political topics. As soon as politics is involved wikipedia is as biased as any other source. Quote To fly a plane, you need both a left wing and a right wing.
White Doors Posted November 19, 2008 Report Posted November 19, 2008 Only for non-political topics. As soon as politics is involved wikipedia is as biased as any other source. never thought to look up political stuff there. mainly interested in history. Quote Those Dern Rednecks done outfoxed the left wing again.~blueblood~
Riverwind Posted November 19, 2008 Report Posted November 19, 2008 never thought to look up political stuff there. mainly interested in history.Politics shows up in odd place like in anything to do with global warming... Quote To fly a plane, you need both a left wing and a right wing.
White Doors Posted November 19, 2008 Report Posted November 19, 2008 Politics shows up in odd place like in anything to do with global warming... Quote Those Dern Rednecks done outfoxed the left wing again.~blueblood~
AngusThermopyle Posted December 5, 2008 Author Report Posted December 5, 2008 mainly interested in history. Me too. I especially enjoy these obscure sort of historical stories. They flesh out the recitation of dates and events that a lot of history is composed of. Next up, Babbage and his amazing machine. Quote I yam what I yam - Popeye
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