JTF.ORG Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Ulli on January 08, 2009, 04:28:23 PM
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Mr. Curt Herzstark was a mechanic who worked on a totally new math-machine in Austria before WW2. As the Nazis occupied Austria, they put him in the KZ Buchenwald and gave him the equipment to perfect his machine.
They told him if he would be succesfull they would let him live and Arianize him. This machine should be a special gift for Adolf Hitler after the final victory.
He survived the war and the KZ.
After the war, he went to Luxemburg and offered the duke his invention. The duke, a hobby mathematician was very impressed and built specially for this machine a great factory.
The machine is able to addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
The name of the machine is Curta.
Here is a picture of it. I have no idea how it works. It looks very unusual.
(http://www.curta.de/kr34/ba_curta.gif)
It was very expensive for this time. In 1950 it costs ca. 500 DM. For the relation a gem costs in this time 0,03 DM.
Source1: http://einestages.spiegel.de/external/ShowTopicAlbumBackground/a3327/l7/l0/F.html#featuredEntry
Source2: http://www.curta.de/kr31/index.htm
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He became a honourable citizen of Luxemburg, because he saved lots of people in Buchenwald, because he told the Nazis, that he needs the services of them for his work. :)
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(http://www.curta.de/kr23/b1984_herzst_maier.jpg)
This is Mr. Herzstark (right) and his engineer from Luxemburg.
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does he still invent things?
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does he still invent things?
No, he died in 1988.
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does he still invent things?
No, he died in 1988.
Oh too bad he could have invented good things
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does he still invent things?
No, he died in 1988.
Oh too bad he could have invented good things
In academic circles he is today quite famous.
The Charles Babbage Institute of the university of Minnesota did research on him and his work.
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does he still invent things?
No, he died in 1988.
Oh too bad he could have invented good things
In academic circles he is today quite famous.
The Charles Babbage Institute of the university of Minnesota did research on him and his work.
he sounds interesting about charles Babage http://www.thocp.net/biographies/babbage_charles.html
the institute
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage_Institute
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does he still invent things?
No, he died in 1988.
Oh too bad he could have invented good things
In academic circles he is today quite famous.
The Charles Babbage Institute of the university of Minnesota did research on him and his work.
he sounds interesting about charles Babage http://www.thocp.net/biographies/babbage_charles.htm
Mord, the page seems to be removed.
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does he still invent things?
No, he died in 1988.
Oh too bad he could have invented good things
In academic circles he is today quite famous.
The Charles Babbage Institute of the university of Minnesota did research on him and his work.
he sounds interesting about charles Babage http://www.thocp.net/biographies/babbage_charles.htm
Mord, the page seems to be removed.
hold on it worked now it doesn't
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now it works :)
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now it works :)
:::D The problem is you have forgotten the l of html
http://www.thocp.net/biographies/babbage_charles.html
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now it works :)
:::D The problem is you have forgotten the l of html
http://www.thocp.net/biographies/babbage_charles.html
yes i see :laugh:
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Look Mord here is a simulator of the machine:
http://www.curta.de/kr34/curta_simulator.htm
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Look Mord here is a simulator of the machine:
http://www.curta.de/kr34/curta_simulator.htm
I like that machine
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that machine does sound very interesting thanks for the posting!
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that machine does sound very interesting thanks for the posting!
Thank you. I posted it, because the story is like the machine very unusual.
I have never seen something like that before.
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Look you can buy it on ebay. It is very expensive.
http://cgi.ebay.de/Black-Curta-II-Calculator-mint-condition_W0QQitemZ280299842495QQihZ018QQcategoryZ414QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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hah.. in the UK a high end computer around 1993 was 2000UKP, that's like $4000
So yeah it may look expensive..
I wonder if that calculator is worth more now - in monetary terms - than it was then, taking inflation into account.
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hah.. in the UK a high end computer around 1993 was 2000UKP, that's like $4000
So yeah it may look expensive..
I wonder if that calculator is worth more now - in monetary terms - than it was then, taking inflation into account.
It was very expensive.
Look here you will find more informations in English about it: http://www.curta.org/