power-history
10-14-2008, 10:29 PM
This is what an engineer might have used half a century ago to help design a transmission/distribution network:
http://long-lines.net/other/electrical/ElectricalWorld-1955-12-12/009.html
It's an analog computer, totally different from today's digital computers and calculators. It used small resistors, capacitors and inductors to create a circuit that was a "scale model" of the actual network, then applied power at a controlled voltage and power factor to the circuit to simulate the desired operating conditions. The voltage, phase angle, etc. at any point in the circuit could then be measured to determine what they would be at the same point in the actual network.
The knobs and switches on the panel were used to set up the simulated network, set the various impedances, control the power applied to the circuit and select the points where measurements would be taken. The results were read from the large meters in front of the operator.
This computer in the ad is actually one of the smaller models. The biggest ones filled an entire room.
http://long-lines.net/other/electrical/ElectricalWorld-1955-12-12/009.html
It's an analog computer, totally different from today's digital computers and calculators. It used small resistors, capacitors and inductors to create a circuit that was a "scale model" of the actual network, then applied power at a controlled voltage and power factor to the circuit to simulate the desired operating conditions. The voltage, phase angle, etc. at any point in the circuit could then be measured to determine what they would be at the same point in the actual network.
The knobs and switches on the panel were used to set up the simulated network, set the various impedances, control the power applied to the circuit and select the points where measurements would be taken. The results were read from the large meters in front of the operator.
This computer in the ad is actually one of the smaller models. The biggest ones filled an entire room.