From fork-admin@xent.com Thu Oct 3 12:54:57 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: yyyy@localhost.spamassassin.taint.org Received: from localhost (jalapeno [127.0.0.1]) by jmason.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 3E7DE16F03 for ; Thu, 3 Oct 2002 12:53:26 +0100 (IST) Received: from jalapeno [127.0.0.1] by localhost with IMAP (fetchmail-5.9.0) for jm@localhost (single-drop); Thu, 03 Oct 2002 12:53:26 +0100 (IST) Received: from xent.com ([64.161.22.236]) by dogma.slashnull.org (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id g92KRGK27278 for ; Wed, 2 Oct 2002 21:27:16 +0100 Received: from lair.xent.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by xent.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 68C04294179; Wed, 2 Oct 2002 13:27:03 -0700 (PDT) Delivered-To: fork@spamassassin.taint.org Received: from smtp6.mindspring.com (smtp6.mindspring.com [207.69.200.110]) by xent.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2BC2129409C for ; Wed, 2 Oct 2002 13:26:52 -0700 (PDT) Received: from user-119ac86.biz.mindspring.com ([66.149.49.6]) by smtp6.mindspring.com with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 17wq58-0000da-00; Wed, 02 Oct 2002 16:26:54 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Sender: rahettinga@pop.earthlink.net Message-Id: To: Digital Bearer Settlement List , fork@spamassassin.taint.org From: "R. A. Hettinga" Subject: Re: Optical analog computing? Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sender: fork-admin@xent.com Errors-To: fork-admin@xent.com X-Beenthere: fork@spamassassin.taint.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.11 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: Friends of Rohit Khare List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Date: Wed, 2 Oct 2002 16:25:26 -0400 --- begin forwarded text Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2002 03:21:05 +1000 To: "John S. Denker" From: Greg Rose Subject: Re: Optical analog computing? Cc: "R. A. Hettinga" , Digital Bearer Settlement List , cryptography@wasabisystems.com At 01:30 AM 10/2/2002 -0400, John S. Denker wrote: >"R. A. Hettinga" wrote: >... > > "the first computer to crack enigma was optical" >1) Bletchley Park used optical sensors, which were (and >still are) the best way to read paper tape at high speed. >You can read about it in the standard accounts, e.g. > http://www.picotech.com/applications/colossus.html But Colossus was not for Enigma. The bombes used for Enigma were electro-mechanical. I'm not aware of any application of optical techniques to Enigma, unless they were done in the US and are still classified. And clearly, the first bulk breaks of Enigma were done by the bombes, so I guess it depends whether you count bombes as computers or not, whether this statement has any credibility at all. Greg. Williams/Zenon 2004 campaign page: http://www.ben4prez.org Greg Rose INTERNET: ggr@qualcomm.com Qualcomm Australia VOICE: +61-2-9817 4188 FAX: +61-2-9817 5199 Level 3, 230 Victoria Road, http://people.qualcomm.com/ggr/ Gladesville NSW 2111 232B EC8F 44C6 C853 D68F E107 E6BF CD2F 1081 A37C --- end forwarded text -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'