Build a Digital Computer Using Pulleys and Strings

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By Dennis Green2014-05-05 02:24:21 UTC

Building a digital computer is as easy as learning string theory (no, not that kind of string theory).

Broken down into discrete parts, a digital computer can be represented by a complicated system of pulleys and strings. In fact, any system that can handle symbols as both input and output is a digital computer; it's just the electric circuits you normally think of as a "digital computer" are really good at it. Alex Gorischek created a video demonstrating this exact principle with a system of digital computers using basic pulleys and strings. In this case. the computers were simple binary logic gates.

And you thought making a digital computer would be hard — but it's as easy as pulling a few strings!

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