Arithmometer
device · 1851 · Industrial Revolution
A mass-produced mechanical calculator (Thomas, Odhner).
Inventor: Charles Xavier Thomas.
What it is made of
- Gear — has part. Gear wheels do the counting.
- Pinwheel with sliding teeth — has part. A wheel with retractable teeth sets a digit.
- Result register — has part. The carriage with the result.
- Crank — has part. The handle for adding and subtracting.
Principles and materials it uses
- Brass — is made of. Thomas’s arithmometer is brass.
History: what it evolved from and what it influenced
- Leibniz’s stepped reckoner — evolved from. Thomas’s arithmometer used Leibniz’s stepped drum.
- Electronic calculator — evolved into. Electronics replaced mechanics.