The history of the early attempts to apply the algebra of logic to engineering problems

Druzhinin, Yury

doi:10.31857/S020596060003890-1

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Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki

The history of the early attempts to apply the algebra of logic to engineering problems

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The history of the early attempts to apply the algebra of logic to engineering problems

PII

S020596060003890-1-1

DOI

10.31857/S020596060003890-1

Publication type

Article

Status

Published

Authors

Yury Druzhinin

Affiliation: V. A. Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow

Journal name

Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki

Edition

Volume 40 1

Pages

9-20

Abstract

The development of electric engineering led to the emergence of relay-contact systems that included dozens of relays and contacts in some areas of technology (interlocking in naval turret artillery, automated statistical calculations, etc.) back in the 1880s and 1890s. Due to their relative simplicity, notwithstanding certain expenses, such systems were designed without using the apparatus of the algebra of logic. At the same time, the need in logical description of the functioning of complicated technological systems had arisen in the railroad sector (central mechanical signal and switch control). Such descriptions that actually used binary variables had been created by the French and Belgian engineering practitioners. The operators of one of such systems, i.e. Armand Flamache’s system, were functionally the same as logical operators of the algebra of logic, while lacking a wide set of properties inherent in the latters. Flamache’s system did not go any further and was forgotten although, despite its being narrowly specialized, was the first portent of using the algebra of logic in technology.

Keywords

control systems, algebra of logic, railroad signaling, history of technology, Flamache’s system

Publication date

27.03.2019

Number of characters

22318

Cite

GOST	Druzhinin Y. The history of the early attempts to apply the algebra of logic to engineering problems // Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki – 2019. – V. 40. – 1 C. 9-20 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://vietmag.org/S020596060003890-1-1 (circulation date: 22.07.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S020596060003890-1
MLA	Druzhinin, Yury "The history of the early attempts to apply the algebra of logic to engineering problems." Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki 40.1 (2019):9-20. DOI: 10.31857/S020596060003890-1
APA	Druzhinin Y. (2019). The history of the early attempts to apply the algebra of logic to engineering problems. Voprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki 40(1), pp.9-20 DOI: 10.31857/S020596060003890-1

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