First Experiments

First Experiments by Prof. Dr. Bernd Ulmann

Prof. Dr. Bernd Ulmann founded the Museum of mainframe computers in 2000 and maintains a unique collection of analog computer equipment. He is the author of the book Analog computers: Marvels of technology – foundations, history and application, published 2010 at Oldenburg Verlag.

Talk: Analogrechnen (Thursday 6th of March at 7 p.m.)
(to register please send an email to teresa@m-e-g-a.org)

In contrast to the majority of computers today the so-called analog computer exmines problems with the help of models. If you want to, for example, calculate a minimal surface, the model of a soap bubble can help. But models can also be abstract, such as electronic models that allow calculation of significantly more general issues. The presentation gives an overview of the history, applications, and the technology of analog computers and gives an outlook on possible future applications.

Target audience: Interested in mathematics and technology, approximately 90 minutes

Workshop: Z80 my digital computer (Thursday 6th of March at 4.30 p.m.)
(to register please send an email to teresa@m-e-g-a.org)

Based on a small DIY computer it is shown how to build yourself a simple 8-bit computer with a serial port and an IDE disk (Compact Flash) and also how to write a simple operating system for it. Although such a project seems to be nostalgic it has advantages over for example the Raspberri-Pi, because the hardware is simple and can be in the truest sense of the word “understand” and software can be developed without using a large and complex development environment. The finished system can read FAT16 file systems (write access is still in progress) and has a Forth and, optionally, a BASIC interpreter.

Target audience: Interested in mathematics and technology, approximately 90 minutes

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Partner event of science year 2014 – The Digital Society