Literally just now I learned about an absolutely amazing device - a water computer. Lukyanov's hydraulic integrator - the world's first computing machine for solving partial differential equations - for half a century was the only means of computing related to a wide range of problems in mathematical physics.
In 1936, he created a calculating machine, in which all mathematical operations were performed by flowing water. Have you heard of this?
The first hydrointegrator IG-1 was designed to solve the most simple - one-dimensional problems. In 1941, a two-dimensional hydraulic integrator was designed in the form of separate sections. Subsequently, the integrator was modified for solving three-dimensional problems.
After the organization of mass production, integrators began to be exported abroad: to Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria and China. But they received the greatest distribution in our country. With their help, scientific research was carried out in the settlement "Mirny", calculations of the project of the Karakum Canal and the Baikal-Amur Mainline. Hydrointegrators have been successfully used in mine construction, geology, construction thermal physics, metallurgy, rocketry and many other areas.
The first digital electronic computers (DECM) that appeared in the early 50s could not compete with the "water" machine. The main advantages of the hydrointegrator are the clarity of the calculation process, simplicity of design and programming. Computers of the first and second generations were expensive, had low performance, small memory size, limited set of peripheral equipment, poorly developed software, and required qualified maintenance. In particular, the problems of permafrost were easily and quickly solved on a hydrointegrator, and on a computer - with great difficulties. In the mid-1970s, hydraulic integrators were used in 115 industrial, scientific and educational organizations located in 40 cities of our country. Only in the early 80s did small-sized, cheap,with high speed and memory capacity digital computers, completely covering the capabilities of the hydrointegrator.
And a little more for those who are interested in the details.
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The creation of the hydrointegrator was dictated by a complex engineering problem, which the young specialist V. Lukyanov faced in the first year of work.
After graduating from the Moscow Institute of Railway Engineers (MIIT), Lukyanov was sent to the construction of the Troitsk-Orsk and Kartaly-Magnitnaya (now Magnitogorsk) railways.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the construction of railways was slow. The main working tools were a shovel, a pickaxe and a wheelbarrow, and excavation and concreting were carried out only in the summer. But the quality of the work still remained low, cracks appeared - the scourge of reinforced concrete structures.
Lukyanov became interested in the causes of cracks in concrete. His assumption about their temperature origin is met with skepticism from experts. The young engineer begins researching temperature regimes in concrete masonry, depending on the composition of the concrete, the cement used, the technology of work and external conditions. The distribution of heat fluxes is described by complex relationships between temperature and concrete properties that change over time. These relations are expressed by the so-called partial differential equations. However, the calculation methods that existed at that time (1928) could not give a quick and accurate solution.
In search of ways to solve the problem, Lukyanov turns to the works of mathematicians and engineers. He finds the right direction in the works of outstanding Russian scientists - academicians A. N. Krylov, N. N. Pavlovsky and M. V. Kirpichev.
Shipbuilding engineer, mechanic, physicist and mathematician Academician Alexei Nikolaevich Krylov (1863-1945) at the end of 1910 built a unique mechanical analog computing machine - a differential integrator for solving ordinary differential equations of the 4th order.
Academician Nikolai Nikolaevich Pavlovsky (1884-1937) dealt with hydraulics. In 1918, he proved the possibility of replacing one physical process with another if they are described by the same equation (the principle of analogy in modeling).
Academician Mikhail Viktorovich Kirpichev (1879-1955) - a specialist in the field of heat engineering, developed the theory of modeling processes in industrial installations - the method of local thermal modeling. The method made it possible to reproduce the phenomena observed at large industrial facilities under laboratory conditions.
Lukyanov was able to generalize the ideas of great scientists: a model is the highest degree of visualization of mathematical truth. After conducting research and making sure that the laws of water flow and heat propagation are largely similar, he concluded that water can act as a model of the thermal process. In 1934, Lukyanov proposed a fundamentally new method of mechanizing the calculations of unsteady processes - the method of hydraulic analogies, and a year later created a thermal hydraulic model to demonstrate the method. This primitive device, made of roofing iron, sheet metal and glass tubes, successfully solved the problem of studying the temperature conditions of concrete.
Its main unit was vertical main vessels of a certain capacity, interconnected by tubes with variable hydraulic resistances and connected to movable vessels. Raising and lowering them, they changed the pressure of water in the main vessels. The start or stop of the calculation process was carried out by cranes with general control.
In 1936, the world's first computing machine for solving partial differential equations, Lukyanov's hydraulic integrator, was put into operation.
To solve the problem on the hydrointegrator, it was necessary:
1) draw up a design diagram of the process under study;
2) based on this diagram, connect the vessels, determine and select the values of the hydraulic resistance of the tubes;
3) calculate the initial values of the required value;
4) draw a graph of changes in the external conditions of the modeled process.
After that, the initial values were set: the main and movable vessels with closed taps were filled with water to the calculated levels and marked on graph paper attached behind the piezometers (measuring tubes) - a kind of curve was obtained. Then all the taps were simultaneously opened, and the researcher changed the height of the movable vessels in accordance with the schedule of changes in the external conditions of the simulated process. In this case, the water pressure in the main vessels varied according to the same law as the temperature. The liquid levels in the piezometers changed, at the right time the taps were closed, stopping the process, and the new positions of the levels were marked on graph paper. Based on these marks, a graph was built, which was the solution to the problem.
The capabilities of the hydrointegrator turned out to be unusually broad and promising. In 1938 V. S. Luk'yanov founded a laboratory of hydraulic analogies, which soon became the basic organization for introducing the method into the national economy of the country. He remained the head of this laboratory for forty years.
The main condition for the widespread use of the hydraulic analogy method was the improvement of the hydraulic integrator. The creation of a structure that is convenient in practical application made it possible to solve problems of various types - one-dimensional, two-dimensional and three-dimensional. For example, the flow of water in rectilinear boundaries is a one-dimensional flow. Two-dimensional movement is observed in areas of large river bends, near islands and peninsulas, and groundwater spreads in three dimensions.
The first hydrointegrator IG-1 was designed to solve the most simple - one-dimensional - tasks. In 1941, a two-dimensional hydraulic integrator was designed in the form of separate sections.
In 1949, by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, a special institute "NIISCHETMASH" was created in Moscow, which received selection and preparation for serial production of new models of computer technology. One of the first such machines was the hydrointegrator. For six years, the institute has developed a new design of it from standard unified blocks, and at the Ryazan plant of calculating and analytical machines, their serial production began with the factory brand IGL (integrator of Lukyanov's hydraulic system). Previously, single hydraulic integrators were built at the Moscow plant of calculating and analytical machines (CAM). During the production process, the sections were modified to solve three-dimensional problems.
In 1951, V. S. Lukyanov was awarded the State Prize for the creation of a family of hydrointegrators.
After the organization of mass production, integrators began to be exported abroad: to Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria and China. But they received the greatest distribution in our country. With their help, scientific research was carried out in the settlement "Mirny", calculations of the project of the Karakum Canal and the Baikal-Amur Mainline. Hydrointegrators have been successfully used in mine construction, geology, construction thermal physics, metallurgy, rocketry and many other areas.
The effectiveness of the method of hydraulic analogies in the manufacture of reinforced concrete blocks of the world's first hydroelectric power station from precast concrete - the Saratov hydroelectric power station im. Lenin Komsomol (1956-1970). It was required to develop a manufacturing technology for about three thousand huge blocks weighing up to 200 tons. The blocks had to ripen quickly without cracking on the production line at all seasons and be immediately installed in place. Very complex calculations of the temperature regime, taking into account the continuous change in the properties of hardening concrete and the conditions of electric heating, were made in a timely manner and in the required volume only thanks to Lukyanov's hydrointegrators. Theoretical calculations in combination with tests at a pilot site and in production allowed to work out the technology of manufacturing blocks of impeccable quality.
The first digital electronic computers (DECM) that appeared in the early 50s could not compete with the "water" machine. The main advantages of the hydrointegrator are the clarity of the calculation process, simplicity of design and programming. Computers of the first and second generations were expensive, had low performance, small memory size, limited set of peripheral equipment, poorly developed software, and required qualified maintenance. In particular, the problems of permafrost were easily and quickly solved on a hydrointegrator, and on a computer - with great difficulties. Moreover, the preliminary application of the method of hydraulic analogies helped to formulate the problem, suggest the way of computer programming and even control it in order to avoid gross errors. In the mid-1970s, hydraulic integrators were used in 115 industrial, scientific and educational organizations located in 40 cities of our country. Only at the beginning of the 1980s, small-sized, cheap digital computers with high speed and memory capacity appeared, completely overlapping the capabilities of the hydrointegrator.
Two Lukyanov hydrointegrators are presented in the collection of analog machines of the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow. These are rare exhibits of great historical value, monuments of science and technology. Original computing devices are of constant interest to visitors and are among the most valuable exhibits in the computing department.