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Cool way to store the bits. I saw the other day a video about an old eletronic calculator that stores itens in memory usinglike a piano wire, and microfones, and small speakers, to make the cord vibrate, and store the value.

It was the Friden ec-132 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BIx2x-Q2fE&t=2s&ab_channel=...

There's a great video that goes over an old calculator that used delay lines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BIx2x-Q2fE

⬐ Koshkin

Nice video indeed (I only wish the guy pointed the camera more to the objects of interest rather than his own face), but what is shown is clearly a magnetostrictive delay line (rather than an acoustic one) which is similar to one shown here: http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/calculator_memory_tec....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BIx2x-Q2fE

An example of delay line memory using a wire that vibrates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BIx2x-Q2fE

There is also a fantastic video where Cliff Stoll describes the Friden EC-132 calculator and shows off its acoustic delay line here: https://youtu.be/2BIx2x-Q2fE

Numberphile just yesterday published a video on a pretty neat electronic calculator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BIx2x-Q2fE

⬐ sbuttgereit

Actually, it was that Numberphile video's description where I first saw the link to the to the Old Calculator Web Museum. Great video.

⬐ waiseristy

This calculator seems pretty popular https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fie-Z-mjnyU

⬐ sillysaurus3

Dupe of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15821130

⬐ exabrial

Piano wire for memory??? Wow the things we take for granted these days.

⬐ stan_rogers

For interest's sake, the EDSAC reconstruction[1] will be using taut-wire delay lines in a similar way as a replacement for the original mercury-filled tubes. We very nearly revisited the delay line "juggling" memory a while back when it seemed that magnetic bubble memory might be the solution to all of our woes. (Then flash happened.)

[1]http://www.tnmoc.org/special-projects/edsac/recreating-edsac

⬐ aap_

Very nice. I got see two of these machines as well recently. The memory is indeed quite fascinating. And I totally understand and share that guy's fascination with bringing back things from the past.

⬐ Quai

Man, I love personalities like Cliff Stoll's!

I mean, if a person can make reverse polish notation sounds like the most interesting thing you have ever learned, they are worth listening to!

⬐ nabla9

Fascinating read:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay_line_memory

⬐ Animats

I hate to admit that I used one of those things in college.

It's a stack machine, like HP calculators.

⬐ Cieplak

Personal favorite calculator:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curta

⬐ gbrown_

Wow that's really quite beautiful.