General purpose analog computer

Analog computers are like playground slides that help you go up and down based on the slope. They solve problems by measuring tricky quantities like speed and temperature using variables like voltages and currents rather than zeroes and ones like digital computers.

Imagine a playground slide with an incline that you can make steeper or gentler. Now think of a bucket of water travelling down that slide; when you tilt the slide, the water flows faster, and when you level it, the water flows slowly. Analog computers use these types of actions to solve problems by turning information into electric signals that slide into components like resistors and capacitors to control the desired output.

General-purpose analog computers are like big toolboxes with all kinds of components that people can use to solve different problems. They have different tools that can handle various functions such as adding, multiplying, or controlling. Each of the tools is called an operational amplifier, which does its job by using inputs and outputs to solve the problem.

People use all kinds of problems to test a general-purpose analog computer. For instance, an engineer might use the analog computer to calculate the power required to lift a heavy object or to study the behavior of a circuit to see how it performs. In conclusion, analog computers are like playground slides for scientists and engineers to solve different problems while having some fun.