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A Brief History of Analog Targeting Systems

posted by LaminatorX on Tuesday March 18 2014, @09:27AM   Printer-friendly
from the Surigao-Strait dept.

ed.goforth writes:

"Gears of war: When mechanical analog computers ruled the waves over at Ars is a quick recap of the history of naval targeting & fire control systems and the transition from analog to digital. In short, you'll never believe just how good those old designs were, and how much work it's taken to make GPS-based guidance be as accurate."

 
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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by carguy on Tuesday March 18 2014, @11:03AM

    by carguy (568) on Tuesday March 18 2014, @11:03AM (#18118)

    > about the young women who were first hired to compute those tables by hand

    They also used mechanical calculators (generically, "adding machines"). These people (mostly women) were called "computers" since their job was to "compute" things. A family friend is in her 90s now, she worked as a computer for several years around 1950. She is probably the most meticulous person I know, perfect for the job.

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