Paper computer

Hello! At the age of 15, I became obsessed with the idea of ​​creating a paper computing machine — a full-fledged mechanical computer made of paper, cardboard, and toothpicks. It struck me that paper has existed for over 2000 years, but so far no one has bothered to create a paper computer.

After 3 years of work with breaks, I decided to share with the Internet my own work in this direction. At the moment, I have all the main logic gates, adders, triggers, etc. ready. Theoretically, you can already glue the whole paper machine with a paper memory.



All the mechanisms were developed by me, with the exception of the “AND” valve, the idea of ​​which I borrowed from one of the mechanical Lego computers.

The following are diagrams and photographs of my main paper elements.

Signal transmission

Signals in the car are transmitted by the piston principle. When a block is shifted by one unit of length, a positive value is transmitted, otherwise - zero.


NOT


AND


OR


XOR


RS trigger


Decoder


Delay

Line The delay line is controlled by the operator of the machine with the appropriate lever. When you need to continue the signal "lights up" red light, otherwise - green. The delay line can be used to continue the signal over long distances, in case the paper capacity is not enough.


Pulse generator


Demonstration machine with main logic gates


I'd like to hear the opinions and advice of experts regarding this project and the chances of creating a complete paper computing machine. I am pleased to answer any of your questions.

Thanks for attention!

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