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.comAt 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.htmlBut 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.orgGreg 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'