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TechRadar
TechRadar
Darren Allan

A computer without electricity? Mechanical computing concept 'could help improve people's lives' with all sorts of potential real-world uses

United States
Mechanical computing platform showing interconnected springs and bolts.
  • Researchers in the US have built a mechanical computer
  • It's made from metal bars and springs, and is capable of basic computing operations
  • This might pave the way for important technological advances, and 'could help improve people's lives by having more responsive artificial limbs or tactile rooms'

Can you build a PC from springs and metal bars, which operates entirely mechanically, without any electricity? No, of course you can't, but it is possible to fashion such a device that is capable of basic computations and doesn't need any power supplied at all.

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