A Time before Computers? Weston Engineering Notes

[Jon Chandler]

It was a time before transistors and LEDs, indeed, it was the dawn of the computer age!

I have a collection of Weston Electrical Instrument Corporation Engineering Notes that I've posted on the TAP-28 page. The first group is from 1946 and make fascinating reading. The link to the Engineering Notes is at the bottom of the column on the left of the page.

Truly amazing when you realize these notes were published before the days of a computer on every desk and before desktop publishing. The artwork was done by hand!

Below is a picture of the well-equipped engineer's desk.  Looks a little like Dave's don't you think?



I hope you enjoy this look into the past.  I'll post more as I get them scanned,


Jon

[saturation]

Very George Pal.  Nice!  An early computer the GE Differential Analyzer used in the movie, When Worlds Collide!

[Jon Chandler]

I've added Volume 2 of the Engineering Notes and an index for Volumes 1 and 2.

Hope you enjoy!

Jon

The original geeks:

[DJPhil]

The dour looking guy front row center is Prof Éleuthère Mascart!

This guy was a wholesale science badass, and I wrote a report on him when I was in school. He was into just about everything: electricity, meteorology, optics, chemistry, physics, math, politics, you name it. He did a heap of work on earth's magnetic field, and basically wrote the book on the subject after taking a quick field trip to Cape Horn for some measurements. He was a go-to guy for science and tech advice for several European governments for decades, sort of like a Michio Kaku to the stars. He was a research machine and churned out stuff on electricity, optics, and meteorology like crazy.

The meeting this photo was taken at was a big deal. Physicists were arguing about standardizing electrical units, and after a bunch of work (including the arguments over who to name what after) they settled on the formal definition of the Ohm, and I think the Volt as well (it was one of these meetings around this time anyway). I'd never seen this picture before! It looks like they might have stuck him in charge of moderating and photographed him after, he looks pretty ticked off.

Really good stuff!

[L-Charlotte]

that is really good stuff !!!
but why all the classic engineers have that big mustache :-D