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Photos: Babbage's Difference masterpiece in action
Five tonnes of computer history

By Kara Tsuboi

Published: Monday 12 May 2008

Built from more than 8,000 parts, the Difference Engine weighs more than five tonnes, measures 11 feet across and stands seven feet tall.

To remove room for human error in basic mathematical computations, Babbage designed the Engine to calculate tables of polynomial functions to 31 decimal points. The special part of his design is that it works through addition and not multiplication.

Photo credit: Computer History Museum