The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-01-15
A NEW oA1OULAr1Ne macyInE

: s. We read in the Moniteur: " N. Thomas
aqo''t Uelmar. has lately made the finishing
improvements in the calculating machine,
y called The nrith,momctcr, at wlicl, he has
l'ccn working for upwards of 80 years.
Pascal and L"ihnitz. in tho l7th century,
.xn,l Diderot Mt n later period, e,"leavorc,! to
construct II machine which might serve as Il
substitute for human Intelligence in the
continuation # figures, but failed. NJ.
Thomas'S aritl'n"'nctcr may lie used with
out the least trouble or possibility Of error,
not only for addition, subtraction, mul,ipli-
cation, and division, but also for mucl,
more complex operations, such as the cx-
traction "f the square root. involn,ou, the
resolution Of trianghs, &c. A mul,ipca-
ton Of eight figures 10y eight others is made
III eighteen seconds; n division nf sixteen
figures hy eight figures in twenty-four sec
onds; aud in one minute and quarter
one can extract the square root of IG fly
"res, and also prove the accuracy of the cal
culation. The arithmomcter alapts itself
TO every sort Of combination. As an ill.,
stance of the wonderful extent Of its powers
NO may state that it can furnish in a few Sec
onds products amounting to oo9,o 900.
: 100000, 100000, 9,ooo,0o9,o9o A marvel
lous number, comparable to the infinite
multitude of stars wl,icl, stud the armament.
or tho particles of dust which float in the
atmosphere. The working of this instru-
mcnt is, however, most simple. To raise or
lower nut screw, to turn n winch n few
times, and, l,y means Of u button, 10 slide
off n metal plate from left to right, or from
right to left, is the whole secret Ius:cad
OF simply reproducing the operations of
mans intelligence, the ari,lnomclcr relieve,
that Intelligence from the necessity &c na-
king II" operations. Instcal Of repeating
responses dictated TO il, t!.s instrument IN
simultaneously dictates tie rr,|.cr answer to
the man who asks it Gur.i.,n.
Ut Is not matter Producing matcr;,i
effects, hut matter whci, li.inks, reflects.
reasons, calculates and executes all the most
difficult and complicated ari,hmetcal oper-
ations. with raprlity and inf,lliLitv Which
defies all the calculalors in the world. The
arl'hm"mcter is moreover simple instru-
ment, of very little volume and easily nor.
table. II is already used in many great f.
nanclai establishments, where considerable
economy is realised 10y its employmcnt.-
1t will SOD" he considered as indispensable,
and be as generally used as a cloak, which
was formerly only to be seen III palaces, and
IS now i'll every cottage Generally speak
ing, the practical application of any great
mechanical improvement involves an injury
to certain interests, but that is not the case
here. The aritl'momcter will not cause to
the persons employed in banks, counting
houses, and public Offices airy such preiu-
diccs rs the knitters suffered from the ir.
vchton ct the stocking frame, the spinners
from the srinnig jennies, or coyis.s from
the Invention of printing. The person who
makes use Of this maphine even daily does
not therefore lose his aptitude for calculation
in tile ordinary way. On the contrary, al
tho child may be easily taught to perform
the most complicated calculations by the
uso of the instrument, the more expert in
figures the operator is, the more advantage
he will derive from tile aid of this machine.
The arithmometcr ia not only a p.lpable
evidence Of great difficulty overcome, it
IS an element of wealth, new means Of
multiplying time, like the locomotive enrine
and the electric telegraph. The discovery
IS an event the full Importance Of which i,
Is impossible rs yet to measure.