Hey there! Have you heard of Anton Braun? He was an amazingly talented 18th century German mechanic who created some of the world‘s first properly working calculating machines. I want to explain Braun‘s pioneering work because I find vintage calculators fascinating in how they automated complex math for the first time. And Braun‘s elaborate creations were among the best of the era!
So first let me set the scene on calculating gadgets back then…
The Quest for Calculation Automation
In 17th century Europe, mathematicians and inventors became fixated on designing devices that could reliably calculate sums, products and quotients all by themselves. One of the first was the French polymath Blaise Pascal who built a mechanical adding machine in 1642 using wheels and gears.
While it couldn‘t multiply, Pascal‘s device sparked a wave of further experimentation over the next hundred years:
- Gottfried Leibniz improved on it in 1673 with his breakthrough "stepped reckoner" capable of multiplying by repeated addition thanks to a stepped metal drum mechanism. So no need for endless tables!
- Then in 1709 the Italian professor Giovanni Poleni created a more robust pinwheel calculator – but it couldn‘t reliably carry digits between columns.
So the race was on to build the first true, reliable and fully-featured calculating machine…
Braun‘s Pinwheel Breakthrough
This is where the German mechanician Anton Braun advanced calculating technology further than anyone before. Born in 1686 in Möhringen, Braun was a court optician and maker of surveying instruments. But in 1724 he began work on a wondrous new pinwheel calculating device.
The key challenges were reliably carrying numbers between columns, facilitating multiplication/division, minimising errors and making the machine easy to operate. By 1727 Braun had solved all these problems with his first calculator containing the components in this table:
| Component | Description | Improvement |
|---|---|---|
| Setting levers | For entering digits | Elegant simple mechanism |
| Pinwheels | Wheels with movable pins | First reliable implementation |
| Interlocking gear trains | Connected each pinwheel | Enabled carries |
| Result dials | Displayedrunning totals | Up to 12 digit capacity |
Let me explain the pinwheels specifically…they were the gamechanger!
The Genius of Pinwheels
Braun‘s pinwheels comprised discs with nine adjustable pins arranged radially around their rims. When you turned a setting lever to input say ‘7‘, it would slide the seventh pin outwards. A gear train underneath would turn the pinwheel exactly once.
Then when you cranked the handle continuously, clever interlocking between pinwheels enabled each disc to rotate its neighbour the precise number of turns entered. So columns could carry!
This made the calculation sequence easy:
- Key number on setting levers
- Crank handle to add
- Read sum on result dials
Amazing! Now reliable automation was possible. Braun‘s pinwheel approach was so sound it became the standard for calculators like Curta into the 20th century!
Artistic & Decorative Marvel
Now the second mindblowing fact about Braun‘s first 1727 calculating machine was its appearance. Perched on a table, the silver plated brass casing was decorated in sumptuous Baroque style like a renaissance clock with engraved dedication to Emperor Charles VI.
Yet the exterior showcased outstanding precision mechanics like setting levers, visible moving gears and result dials. So Braun elevated humble calculation into a gleaming work of art AND engineering! I can only imagine the Emperor‘s delight unveiling this mechanical jewel.
Ultimately Anton Braun created one of history‘s first real, usable calculating machines. His pinwheel mechanism finally made accurate reliable multiplication achievable mechanically!
The Adapting Segment Breakthrough
Tragically Braun died very soon after completion age just 42. But his legacy continued when in 1736 his son Anton Braun the Younger collaborated with French mechanician Phillippe Vayringe to finish a second unfinished machine.
It was here Braun introduced his other great innovation – the ‘adapting segment‘. This adjustable component varied the gearing ratio between setting levers and output dials depending on number size. So turning the handle multiple times performed reliable, accurate repeated multiplication rather than crude, fixed addition.
This adapting segment approach later enabled advanced calculators like the famous Curta to execute much more complex calculations. So Braun‘s influence was pivotal. Vayringe engraved the very appropriate dedication "invented by Braun, made by Vayringe" on completing it!
Legacy of a Pioneer
So while overshadowed by computing pioneers like Babbage that followed, Anton Braun produced two exquisite early calculating machines ranking among the period‘s finest achievements. They demonstrated reliable mechanical automation was finally feasible after centuries of effort.
The decorative 1727 silver plated device especially highlighted the era‘s remarkable confluence of flawless ornamental metalcraft with precision gearwork engineering – foreshadowing today‘s computational age.
I hope this summary of Braun‘s work helps convey why I find these pioneering gadgets so significant and fascinating! Let me know if you have any other questions on Anton.
