How Did the First Computers Actually Work?

Imagine a giant mechanical brain made of gears and levers, that’s what the first computers were like! They used switches, gears, and even people to do math problems. Like how you count on your fingers, these machines counted using gears and switches that could only be in one of two states: on or off. It was a big deal because it helped solve complex problems like launching rockets or predicting the weather.

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Examples

  1. A computer that uses gears and switches like a giant abacus
  2. A person who counts numbers by flipping switches on a board
  3. A lightbulb that turns on or off to represent the number one

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