Living In IT Era: The Electromechanical Age.pptx

This presentation delivers an in-depth and illuminating exploration of the Electromagnetic Age, a transformative era in scientific and technological history marked by groundbreaking discoveries in electricity, magnetism, and electromagnetic theory. It delves into the pivotal experiments, visionary scientists, and revolutionary inventions that laid the foundation for modern communication, power generation, and electronic innovation—ushering in a new age of connectivity and industrial advancement.

1. THE ELECTROMECHANICAL AGE (1840 – 1940)

2. At the end of the discussion, students should be able to perform the following with at least 75% proficiency: A. Describe the Electromechanical Age B. Enumerate key inventions and their proponents during the Electromechanical Age C. Participate in a Quiz Bee about the topic LEARNING OBJECTIVES

3. WHat iS THE ELECTROMECHANICAL AGE?

4. The Electromechanical Age refers to a period in the history of information and communication technology when mechanical and electrical processes were combined to create machines capable of automating computation, communication, and control systems.

5. This period bridges the gap between the purely mechanical age and the modern electronic age.

6. WHAT MARKED IT’S BEGINNING?

7. It occurred approximately between 1840 to 1940.

8. Started with the invention of the telegraph and the development of the first electromechanical computing devices.

9. Ended when electronic computers (using vacuum tubes) emerged during World War II.

10. Why It’s Called the Electromechanical Age

11. Electro → use of electricity for power or signal transmission. Mechanical → physical, moving parts for operation.

12. In this era, machines were not purely mechanical (like gears and levers alone) nor purely electronic (like modern computers), but used electricity to drive mechanical systems.

13. Common characteristics: Relays, switches, gears, motors Operated faster than purely mechanical devices Paved the way for automatic data processing

14. Major Inventions and Their Creators

15. Alessandro Volta

16. Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta was an Italian chemist and physicist who was a pioneer of electricity and power, and is credited as the inventor of the electric battery and the discoverer of methane.

17. Voltaic Battery

18. The voltaic battery, invented by Alessandro Volta in 1800, is the first chemical battery capable of producing a steady electric current. It consists of alternating discs of zinc and copper separated by brine-soaked cloth or cardboard, creating a chemical reaction that generates electricity. This invention marked the beginning of electrochemistry and revolutionized the study of electricity.

19. Joseph Henry

20. Joseph Henry, a pioneering American physicist, is renowned for his significant contributions to electromagnetism, including the invention of the electromagnetic relay and groundbreaking work on electromagnets.

21. Electromagnet & Relay (1830s–1835)

22. It is a crucial component for the early telegraph, around 1835. He used it to overcome the limitations of transmitting signals over long distances by creating a device that could switch electrical circuits using an electromagnet. This allowed for the creation of a telegraph line composed of shorter, independently powered segments linked by relays, enabling signals to travel further.

23. William Fothergill Cooke & Sir Charles Wheatstone

24. William Fothergill Cooke and Sir Charles Wheatstone were British inventors who developed the first practical electric telegraph system in the 1830s. Cooke brought entrepreneurial drive, while Wheatstone contributed scientific expertise, resulting in a needle-based telegraph that transformed long-distance communication. Their invention was first used on railway lines, laying the groundwork for modern telecommunications.

25. Cooke and Wheatstone Telegraph (1837)

26. The Cooke and Wheatstone telegraph was an early electrical telegraph system. It was a form of needle telegraph , and the first telegraph system to be put into commercial service. The receiver consisted of a number of needles that could be moved by electromagnetic coils to point to letters on a board. This feature was liked by early users who were unwilling to learn codes, and employers who did not want to invest in staff training.

27. Samuel Morse

28. Samuel Finley Breese Morse was an American inventor and painter. After establishing his reputation as a portrait painter, Morse, in his middle age, contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph system based on European telegraphs

29. Single-circuit Telegraph (1844)

30. Samuel Morse’s single-circuit telegraph was a breakthrough in long-distance communication. It operated by completing an electrical circuit with a key, sending signals through a single wire to a receiver that marked pulses on paper. These pulses were interpreted using Morse code—a system of dots and dashes representing letters and numbers—which allowed complex messages to be transmitted quickly and reliably. This invention laid the foundation for modern telecommunications and transformed global communication.

31. Alexander Graham Bell

32. Alexander Graham Bell was a Scottish-born Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Company in 1885.

33. Telephone (1876)

34. This was the first practical device to transmit human speech electrically. It worked by converting sound waves into electrical signals using a diaphragm and electromagnet, which were then sent through wires to a receiver that reconverted them into sound. Bell’s invention revolutionized communication, laying the foundation for the global telecommunications industry and leading to the creation of the Bell Telephone Company.

35. Herman Hollerith

36. Herman Hollerith was an American inventor and statistician who revolutionized data processing in the late 19th century. In 1890, he developed the electromechanical tabulating machine that used punched cards to record and process census data, dramatically speeding up statistical analysis. His invention laid the groundwork for modern computing and led to the formation of the Tabulating Machine Company, which later evolved into IBM.

37. Tabulating Machine (1884)

38. Herman Hollerith’s Tabulating Machine used punched cards to encode data, allowing electromechanical circuits to read and tally information efficiently. First used in the 1890 U.S. Census, it dramatically reduced processing time and revolutionized statistical analysis. This innovation laid the foundation for modern computing and led to the creation of IBM.

39. James W. Bryce (IBM engineer)

40. James W. Bryce invented one of the first electromechanical multipliers using relays to automate wage calculations by multiplying hours worked with hourly rates—an innovation that transformed time-clock systems. He later contributed to the development of the Harvard Mark I, a programmable calculator, and designed the IBM 603, the first commercial electronic multiplier using vacuum tubes. These inventions laid the groundwork for modern computing by integrating automation, programmability, and electronic processing.

41. Time-clock multipliers & programmable calculators (Early 1900s)

42. Time-clock multipliers were electromechanical devices that automated payroll by multiplying hours worked with hourly rates using relay logic. Programmable calculators, like the Harvard Mark I and IBM 603, could execute stored instructions to perform complex arithmetic operations. These innovations marked a shift from manual computation to automated, programmable processing—laying the foundation for modern computers.

43. John Ambrose Fleming

44. Sir John Ambrose Fleming was an English electrical engineer who invented the vacuum tube, designed the radio transmitter with which the first transatlantic radio transmission was made, and also established the right-hand rule used in physics.

45. Vacuum Tube Diode (1904)

46. This is also known as the Fleming valve. This device, the first practical vacuum tube, consists of a heated cathode and an anode within a vacuum. It allows current to flow in one direction (cathode to anode), acting as a rectifier, which was crucial for early radio receivers. The Fleming valve is considered a foundational invention in electronics. It paved the way for more complex vacuum tubes like the triode , which could amplify signals.

47. Charles Flint (merging Hollerith’s company)

48. Charles Ranlett Flint was the founder of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company which later became IBM. For his financial dealings, he earned the moniker "Father of Trusts".

49. I nternational B usiness M achines (1924 )

50. IBM was founded in 1911 by financier Charles Ranlett Flint, who merged three companies: the Tabulating Machine Company (founded by Herman Hollerith), the International Time Recording Company, and the Computing Scale Company of America. This merger formed the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), which was later renamed International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924 under the leadership of Thomas J. Watson Sr.. Flint’s vision of combining data-processing technologies laid the foundation for what would become one of the most influential tech companies in history.

51. Émile Baudot

52. Jean-Maurice-Émile Baudot, French telegraph engineer and inventor of the first means of digital communication Baudot code, was one of the pioneers of telecommunications. He invented a multiplexed printing telegraph system that used his code and allowed multiple transmissions over a single line.

53. T eleprinter / Teletypewriter ( 1927 )

54. A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations.

55. Konrad Zuse

56. Konrad Zuse was a German engineer who built the first programmable computer, the Z3, in 1941. He also created Plankalkül, the first high-level programming language, and pioneered early computing with his Z1 and Z2 machines. His work laid the foundation for modern computer science.

57. Z1 Computer (1937)

58. Konrad Zuse's first computer was the Z1, a mechanical, binary, and electrically driven calculator with limited programmability, built between 1936 and 1938. It was a significant step towards modern computing, despite its mechanical limitations and eventual destruction during World War II.

59. Z3 Computer (1941)

60. The Z3 in 1941, was the world’s first working programmable, fully automatic digital computer. It used 2,600 electromechanical relays to perform calculations, operated with a 22-bit word length, and ran at a clock speed of about 5–10 Hz. Program code and data were stored on punched film, and the machine was capable of solving complex mathematical problems, including matrix computations for aerodynamics.

61. Z4 Computer (1942-1945)

62. This is one of the world's first commercial digital computers. The Z4 was was an electromechanical machine, similar to the Z3 but with a number of significant enhancements, including a square root function, punch tape output, multiple tape input units, and a conditional branch instruction.

63. KEy characteristics of the era

64. Combination of electrical power and mechanical components. 1.

65. Relays and switches replaced some manual operations. 2.

66. Machines still relied on physical movement of parts for processing. 3.

67. Communication networks expanded globally. 4.

68. Computation shifted from manual to semi-automatic. 5.

69. CONtributions & IMpact

70. Improved speed and efficiency in communication, data processing, and calculations. 1.

71. Introduced the concept of automation in information handling. 2.

72. 3. Laid the technological foundation for the Electronic Age and modern computing.

73. SYNTHESIS

74. When: 1840–1940

75. Beginning: Telegraph invention

76. Why “Electromechanical” : Combination of electrical and mechanical systems

77. Key Inventions: Telegraph, Telephone, Tabulating Machines, Teleprinters, Early Relay-based Computers

78. Impact: Faster communication, semi-automatic data processing, foundation for modern electronics.

79. WHATS THE CONNECTION TO TODAY”S TECHNOLOGIES?

80. The Electromechanical Age (1840–1940) laid the essential groundwork for today’s technology by introducing devices that could convert information into electrical signals and automate complex tasks

81. Innovations like the voltaic battery, telegraph, telephone, radio, and electromechanical computers (e.g., Hollerith’s tabulating machine) enabled faster communication, data processing, and the birth of programmable logic.

82. These breakthroughs directly influenced the development of modern computers, telecommunications, and digital systems that define our current technological landscape.

83. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! Group 1 Presentation made by: Harold Dave O. Calacday