On the Economy of Machinery and ManufacturesBabbage, Charles
ReligionComparative
On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures
Babbage, Charles
Machinery; Manufactures
Notes:
1. An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of
Nations, by Adam Smith.
2. Note sur la publication, proposee par le gouvernement Anglais
des grandes tables logarithmiques et trigonometriques de M de
Prony De l'imprimerie de F. Didot, December 1, 1829, p. 7
3. Since the publication of the second edition of this work, one
portion of the engine which I have been constructing for some
years past has been put together. It calculates, in three
columns, a table with its first and second differences. Each
column can be expressed as far as five figures, so that these
fifteen figures constitute about one ninth part of the larger
engine. The ease and precision with which it works leave no room
to doubt its success in the more extended form. Besides tables of
squares, cubes, and portions of logarithmic tables, it possesses
the power of calculating certain series whose differences are not
constant; and it has already tabulated parts of series formed
from the following equations:
The third differential of ux = units figur of delta ux
The third differential of ux = nearest whole no. to (1/10,000
delta ux)
The subjoined is one amongst the series which it has calculated:
0 3,486 42,972
0 4,991 50,532
1 6,907 58,813
14 9,295 67,826
70 12,236 77,602
230 15,741 88,202
495 19,861 99,627
916 24,597 111,928
1,504 30,010 125,116
2,340 36,131 139,272
The general term of this is,
ux = (x(x-1)(x-2))/(1 X 2 X 3) + the whole number in x/10 +
10 Sigma^3 (units figure of (x(x-1)/2)
Chapter 21
On the Cost of Each Separate Process in a Manufacture
253. The great competition introduced by machinery, and the
application of the principle of the subdivision of labour, render
it necessary for each producer to be continually on the watch, to
discover improved methods by which the cost of the article he
manufactures may be reduced; and, with this view, it is of great
importance to know the precise expense of every process, as well
as of the wear and tear of machinery which is due to it. The same
information is desirable for those by whom the manufactured goods
are distributed and sold; because it enables them to give
reasonable answers or explanations to the objections of
enquirers, and also affords them a better chance of suggesting to
the manufacturer changes in the fashion of his goods, which may
be suitable either to the tastes or to the finances of his
customers. To the statesman such knowledge is still more
important; for without it he must trust entirely to others, and
can form no judgement worthy of confidence, of the effect any tax
may produce, or of the injury the manufacturer or the country may
suffer by its imposition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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