Analog computing is one of the main pillars of Unconventional Computing. Almost forgotten for decades, we now see an ever-increasing interest in electronic analog computing because it offers a path to high-performance and highly energy-efficient computing. These characteristics are of great importance in a world where vast amounts of electric energy are consumed by today’s computer systems. Analog computing can deliver efficient solutions to many computing problems, ranging from general purpose analog computation to specialised systems like analog artificial neural networks. The book “Analog Computing” has established itself over the past decade as the standard textbook on the subject and has been substantially extended in this second edition, which includes more than 300 additional bibliographical entries, and has been expanded in many areas to include much greater detail. These enhancements will confirm this book’s status as the leading work in the field. It covers the history of analog computing from the Antikythera Mechanism to recent electronic analog computers and uses a wide variety of worked examples to provide a comprehensive introduction to programming analog computers. It also describes hybrid computers, digital differential analysers, the simulation of analog computers, stochastic computers, and provides a comprehensive treatment of classic and current analog computer applications. The last chapter looks into the promising future of analog computing.

The theoretical foundations of Neural Networks and Analog Computation conceptualize neural networks as a particular type of computer consisting of multiple assemblies of basic processors interconnected in an intricate structure. Examining these networks under various resource constraints reveals a continuum of computational devices, several of which coincide with well-known classical models. On a mathematical level, the treatment of neural computations enriches the theory of computation but also explicated the computational complexity associated with biological networks, adaptive engineering tools, and related models from the fields of control theory and nonlinear dynamics. The material in this book will be of interest to researchers in a variety of engineering and applied sciences disciplines. In addition, the work may provide the base of a graduate-level seminar in neural networks for computer science students.

This Third Edition is the first English-language edition of the award-winning Meilensteine der Rechentechnik; illustrated in full color throughout in two volumes. The Third Edition is devoted to both analog and digital computing devices, as well as the world's most magnificient historical automatons and select scientific instruments (employed in astronomy, surveying, time measurement, etc.). It also features detailed instructions for analog and digital mechanical calculating machines and instruments, and is the only such historical book with comprehensive technical glossaries of terms not found in print or in online dictionaries. The book also includes a very extensive bibliography based on the literature of numerous countries around the world. Meticulously researched, the author conducted a worldwide survey of science, technology and art museums with their main holdings of analog and digital calculating and computing machines and devices, historical automatons and selected scientific instruments in order to describe a broad range of masterful technical achievements. Also covering the history of mathematics and computer science, this work documents the cultural heritage of technology as well.

As classic digital computers are about to reach their physical and architectural boundaries, interest in unconventional approaches to computing, such as quantum and analog computers, is rapidly increasing. For a wide variety of practical applications, analog computers can outperform classic digital computers in terms of both raw computational speed and energy efficiency. This makes them ideally suited a co-processors to digital computers, thus forming hybrid computers. This second edition of "Analog and Hybrid Computer Programming" provides a thorough introduction to the programming of analog and hybrid computers. It contains a wealth of practical examples, ranging from simple problems such as radioactive decay, harmonic oscillators, and chemical reaction kinetics to advanced topics which include the simulation of neurons, chaotic systems such as a double-pendulum simulation and many more. In addition to these examples, it contains a chapter on special functions which can be used as "subroutines" in an analog computer setup.

The story of a neural impulse and what it reveals about how our brains work We see the last cookie in the box and think, can I take that? We reach a hand out. In the 2.1 seconds that this impulse travels through our brain, billions of neurons communicate with one another, sending blips of voltage through our sensory and motor regions. Neuroscientists call these blips “spikes.” Spikes enable us to do everything: talk, eat, run, see, plan, and decide. In The Spike, Mark Humphries takes readers on the epic journey of a spike through a single, brief reaction. In vivid language, Humphries tells the story of what happens in our brain, what we know about spikes, and what we still have left to understand about them. Drawing on decades of research in neuroscience, Humphries explores how spikes are born, how they are transmitted, and how they lead us to action. He dives into previously unanswered mysteries: Why are most neurons silent? What causes neurons to fire spikes spontaneously, without input from other neurons or the outside world? Why do most spikes fail to reach any destination? Humphries presents a new vision of the brain, one where fundamental computations are carried out by spontaneous spikes that predict what will happen in the world, helping us to perceive, decide, and react quickly enough for our survival. Traversing neuroscience’s expansive terrain, The Spike follows a single electrical response to illuminate how our extraordinary brains work.

Analogue Computing Methods presents the field of analogue computation and simulation in a compact and convenient form, providing an outline of models and analogues that have been produced to solve physical problems for the engineer and how to use and program the electronic analogue computer. This book consists of six chapters. The first chapter provides an introduction to analogue computation and discusses certain mathematical techniques. The electronic equipment of an analogue computer is covered in Chapter 2, while its use to solve simple problems, including the method of scaling is elaborated in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 describes the general layout of a computer with specifications of selected commercial computers. In Chapter 5, the use of a large computer is elaborated through a reactor simulation. The last chapter outlines particular general analogue devices. Conductive analogues and other methods and special techniques, which have been used in connection with electronic analogue computing, are also deliberated in this text. This publication is valuable to students and individuals conducting work on analogue computing.

A self-contained text, suitable for a broad audience. Presents basic concepts in electronics, transistor physics, and neurobiology for readers without backgrounds in those areas. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR