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Rhythmicon (USA, Leon Theremin)
Russian-born Leon Theremin creates the first programmable musical instrument following a commission from American experimental composer, Henry Cowell. Similar to how early computers relied on punch cards for computation, the Rhythmicon uses photoelectric technology where complex rhythms could be programmed onto discs as a sequencer. The Rhythmicon is also the ancestor of drum machines and sequencers. -
Mallock Machine (UK, Rawlyn Mallock)
An electrical analog computer created at Cambridge University, this calculator solved simultaneous linear differential equations, achieving a less than 0.1% likelihood of error in roots. The machine relied upon a set of alternating current transformers each with a number of windings, the unknowns being proportional to the fluxes in the transformers... (457). This is one of the first computers to solve equations automatically and quickly. -
Water Integrator (USSR, Vladimir Lukyanov)
This water-powered calculator was, at the time, the only computer capable of solving partial differential equations, which neatly plotted its result in a graph. Lukyanov created his machine to quickly and accurately address temperature fluctuations in concrete to facilitate railway construction. The calculator became mass produced and widely distributed across the Soviet Union, remaining in use until the 1980s. -
Z1 (Third Reich, Konrad Zuse)
Though destroyed in WWII, the Z1, built in Zuse's parents' living room, was revolutionary. It was the first freely programmable computer that used Boolean logic and binary floating-point numbers, but it proved unreliable in operation. Zuse had to follow a shoestring budget due to wartime shortages, developing a mechanical computer that could perform the four arithmetic functions and that featured a clock. -
Bomba Kryptologiczna (Poland, Marian Rejewski)
The predecessor to Turing's "bombe," Rejewski devised a semi-automatic device to crack German Enigma-machine ciphers. The "cryptologic bomb" consisted of three pairs of Enigma rotor sets driven by an electric motor via a planetary gear that allowed for greatly expedited decoding; if done manually, the process would occupy over two months, becoming strategically worthless. Though Turing is accredited for the "bombe," his design was based on Rejewski's.