The Harvard Mark II is an early electromechanical computer that was developed at Harvard University in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was a successor to the original Harvard Mark I, which was a large scale, general-purpose computing machine built during World War II. The Mark II was initiated in 1947 and completed in 1951, as part of an effort to improve upon the design and capabilities of its predecessor.
A Numerical Wind Tunnel is a computational tool used in fluid dynamics to simulate and analyze airflow around objects, such as vehicles, buildings, or aircraft, using numerical methods. Unlike traditional wind tunnels, where physical models are tested with real airflow, a numerical wind tunnel leverages advanced computational algorithms and simulations to replicate airflow behavior. Key components of a Numerical Wind Tunnel include: 1. **Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD):** This is the core technology behind numerical wind tunnels.
Roadrunner is a supercomputer that was developed by IBM and was notable for being the first supercomputer to achieve a performance of one petaflop, or one quadrillion calculations per second, in 2008. It was installed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and was designed for a variety of scientific and engineering applications, particularly in the fields of nuclear simulation, climate research, and other complex computations.
Z3 is a high-performance theorem prover developed by Microsoft Research. It is designed to solve problems expressed in first-order logic, which makes it particularly useful for a variety of applications in formal verification, constraint-solving, and automated reasoning. Z3 can handle a range of logical theories, including: 1. **Boolean Algebra** - It can efficiently manage logical operations and expressions. 2. **Linear Arithmetic** - It supports reasoning about linear equations and inequalities involving real numbers and integers.
Elektronika programmable calculators were a series of programmable calculators manufactured in the Soviet Union during the late 1970s and 1980s. The Elektronika brand was associated with various electronic devices, not just calculators, and was produced by different Soviet factories. One of the most notable models was the **Elektronika BC-701**, which was a scientific programmable calculator that allowed users to input and store programs, making it possible to perform complex calculations automatically.
Sharp programmable calculators are a line of calculators produced by Sharp Corporation that are designed to allow users to write and execute custom programs for performing complex calculations and tasks. These calculators typically feature programmable functions, enabling users to input a series of mathematical operations and execute them with a single command. Sharp has produced a variety of programmable calculators over the years, including models aimed at educational use, engineering, and technical applications.
The IBM 6400 Accounting Machine, introduced in the 1960s, was a sophisticated electronic accounting device designed to automate various accounting and financial tasks. This machine was part of IBM's line of business equipment aimed at improving efficiency in accounting processes. Key features and characteristics of the IBM 6400 Accounting Machine include: 1. **Data Entry and Processing**: The machine allowed operators to enter financial data using numeric keys and automatically process this information.
The Programma 101 was one of the first programmable calculators and is considered one of the earliest commercial computers. It was developed by the Italian company Olivetti and introduced in 1965. The device was notable for its compact design, using integrated circuits, which was innovative for its time. The Programma 101 could perform various mathematical calculations, including complex functions like trigonometric calculations, and it was able to store programs for repeated execution.
A GPS puck is a type of GPS receiver that is often designed in a compact, puck-like shape, hence the name. These devices are used to obtain location data via GPS satellites, and they can be used for a variety of applications, including navigation, tracking, geolocation, and surveying. GPS pucks typically feature: 1. **Compact Design**: Their circular or spherical shape makes them portable and easy to mount in various settings.
Polar Bear is a block cipher that was designed for use in cryptographic applications. It is part of the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Lightweight Cryptography project, aimed at developing cryptographic primitives suitable for constrained environments, including IoT (Internet of Things) devices. Polar Bear operates on a block size of 128 bits and supports key sizes of 128, 192, and 256 bits. Its design focuses on providing efficiency and security in lightweight contexts.
SEAL (Simple Encrypted Arithmetic Library) is an open-source homomorphic encryption library developed by Microsoft Research. It allows computations to be performed on encrypted data without the need to decrypt it first, enabling secure data processing and privacy-preserving analytics. The library supports both levelled and fully homomorphic encryption, which means it can handle a limited number of operations on ciphertexts as well as an unlimited number of operations in certain configurations.
SMASH (Secure and Multi-Application SHa) is a hash function developed for cryptographic purposes. It is designed to provide the necessary security characteristics expected from modern cryptographic hash functions, such as resistance to pre-image attacks, second pre-image attacks, and collision resistance. While SMASH is not as widely known as other hash functions like SHA-256 or SHA-3, it reflects an ongoing effort in the field of cryptography to create more efficient and secure hash functions.
Zeroisation is a security procedure employed to eliminate or render inoperable sensitive information stored in electronic devices, memory, or other storage media. This process typically involves overwriting the data with zeroes or random values, ensuring that the original information cannot be recovered or accessed after the operation. Zeroisation is often used in contexts where classified or sensitive data is handled, such as in military or government environments, to prevent unauthorized access in case a device is lost or compromised.
The Madelung constant is a numerical factor that arises in the study of ionic crystals, specifically in the calculation of the electrostatic potential energy of an ion in a crystal lattice. It quantifies the influence of all the other ions surrounding a particular ion on the potential energy of that ion due to Coulombic interactions. In ionic crystals, ions are arranged in a regular lattice structure, and each ion interacts with numerous other ions.
A physical constant is a quantity with a fixed value that does not change in time or space. These constants are fundamental in the laws of physics and are used to describe the properties of the universe. Examples of physical constants include: 1. **Speed of Light (c)** - Approximately \(299,792,458\) meters per second in a vacuum. 2. **Gravitational Constant (G)** - Approximately \(6.
Trustico is a company that specializes in providing digital security solutions, particularly in the realm of SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates. SSL certificates are essential for securing online communications by encrypting data exchanged between a user's browser and a web server. Trustico offers various types of SSL certificates, including single-domain, multi-domain, and wildcard certificates. In addition to SSL certificates, Trustico may offer other services related to website security, such as domain validation, secure email, and code signing certificates.
The term "Crypto Wars" refers to the ongoing debate and conflict around the use of cryptography in communications, particularly concerning government regulation, privacy, and security. This term has both historical and contemporary connotations. Historically, the Crypto Wars can be traced back to the 1990s when the U.S. government attempted to regulate the use of strong encryption technologies.
Speck is a family of lightweight block ciphers designed by the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States. It was introduced in 2013 and is particularly suited for constrained environments such as embedded systems, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and other resource-limited applications. ### Key Features of Speck: 1. **Lightweight Design**: Speck is designed to be efficient in both hardware and software implementations.
Kryptos is a sculpture created by artist Jim Sanborn, located on the grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia. It was installed in 1990 and consists of a large stone monument with encrypted messages inscribed on it. The sculpture has gained notoriety for its complex codes, which have intrigued cryptographers and puzzle enthusiasts for years. Kryptos features four sections of encrypted text, out of which three have been solved.
Smithy is an open-source framework used for defining services and their operations in a structured way. It allows developers to create APIs and data models in a way that is both human-readable and machine-readable. The Smithy uses a specific language referred to as Smithy IDL (Interface Definition Language) to specify the API's operations, data structures, errors, and other components.

Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project

Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
We have two killer features:
  1. topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculus
    Articles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
    • a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
    • a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
    This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
    Figure 1.
    Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page
    . View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivative
  2. local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:
    This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
    Figure 2.
    You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either https://OurBigBook.com or as a static website
    .
    Figure 3.
    Visual Studio Code extension installation
    .
    Figure 4.
    Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation
    .
    Figure 5.
    Web editor
    . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.
    Video 3.
    Edit locally and publish demo
    . Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.
    Video 4.
    OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo
    . Source.
  3. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook-media/master/feature/x/hilbert-space-arrow.png
  4. Infinitely deep tables of contents:
    Figure 6.
    Dynamic article tree with infinitely deep table of contents
    .
    Descendant pages can also show up as toplevel e.g.: ourbigbook.com/cirosantilli/chordate-subclade
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact