Today we went down to the San Francisco marina to check out what the folks at the Long Now Foundation have been up to.
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| Grey and foggy SF. |
I must say that I'm pretty impressed with their time-machine.
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| Mechanical Calendar |
Their core is very much a digital computer using serial adders that compute the positions of each visible planet. It's certainly a simple and compact design. I particularly approve of the "bit pin levers" in this serial adder. See US Patent 6249485 for the detailed description of the serial adder. Pretty amazing stuff!
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| Serial adder. |
A bit serial computer is also used to drive the chimes.
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| Chime Generator |
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Loads of amazing prototypes, inspiring devices and materials. Check out these falling weights!
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| Downward-spiral falling weights |
I'm going to have some wild clockwork dreams tonight! Thanks for showing us around Alex!
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