Computer History Museum Debuts Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine No. 2, On Display for the First Time in the US

See the Five-Ton Computing Engine Come to Life, Starting May 10, 2008

WHAT:             Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine No. 2, one of the earliest designs for an automatic computing engine, will be on display for the first time in the United States at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.  Visitors to the Museum will have the unprecedented opportunity to see and hear the Engine working – a stunning display of Victorian mechanics. The machine, one of only two ever built, is an arresting spectacle, and will be on display for a year starting May 10, 2008.

Transported from London where it has just been completed, the Engine consists of 8,000 parts of bronze, cast iron, and steel. It weighs five tons and measures 11 feet long and seven feet high. Designed between 1847 and 1849, the Engine is a startling example of elegant design and inspired engineering.

Charles Babbage (1791-1871) is known as the visionary innovator whose designs for vast mechanical calculating engines rank as one of the startling achievements of the 19th century. Difference Engine No. 2 is monumental in logical conception, physical size, and intricacy.  Babbage himself was unable to build a complete machine. Difference Engine No. 2 is the first of his designs to be built in its entirety – a sight no Victorian ever saw. 

WHEN:            On display for a limited time, beginning May 2008. Admission is free.

                        Computer History Museum Hours:                       

Wednesdays                  12 pm – 4 pm                           

                        Thursdays                     12 pm – 4 pm                           

Fridays                          12 pm – 4 pm                           

                        Saturday                       11 am – 5 pm                           

                        Sunday                          12 pm – 4 pm                           

Live demonstrations of the Engine will take place at 2 pm on weekdays; at 1 pm and 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays. 

WHERE:          Computer History Museum

1401 N Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA 94043
http://www.computerhistory.org/

 PRESS CONTACT:         Jennifer Cloud, 415-402-0230 or jennifer.cloud@atomicpr.com

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