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From: "R. A. Hettinga" <rah@shipwright.com>
Subject: Re: Optical analog computing?
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Status: RO
Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2002 03:21:05 +1000
To: "John S. Denker" <jsd@monmouth.com>
From: Greg Rose <ggr@qualcomm.com>
Subject: Re: Optical analog computing?
Cc: "R. A. Hettinga" <rah@shipwright.com>,
   Digital Bearer Settlement List <dbs@philodox.com>,
   cryptography@wasabisystems.com

At 01:30 AM 10/2/2002 -0400, John S. Denker wrote:
>"R. A. Hettinga" wrote:
>...
> > "the first computer to crack enigma was optical"
>1) Bletchley Park used optical sensors, which were (and
>still are) the best way to read paper tape at high speed.
>You can read about it in the standard accounts, e.g.
>   http://www.picotech.com/applications/colossus.html

But Colossus was not for Enigma. The bombes used for Enigma were
electro-mechanical. I'm not aware of any application of optical techniques
to Enigma, unless they were done in the US and are still classified. And
clearly, the first bulk breaks of Enigma were done by the bombes, so I
guess it depends whether you count bombes as computers or not, whether this
statement has any credibility at all.

Greg.



Williams/Zenon 2004 campaign page: http://www.ben4prez.org

Greg Rose                                       INTERNET: ggr@qualcomm.com
Qualcomm Australia          VOICE:  +61-2-9817 4188   FAX: +61-2-9817 5199
Level 3, 230 Victoria Road,                http://people.qualcomm.com/ggr/
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-- 
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R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
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"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'


