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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 5:28 am 
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BigEd wrote:
Think of it as a construction set built on a physics simulator. You can make things which act, in complex ways. So, just like Meccano, TinkerToys or LEGO, there's a possibility of making a mechanical computer, but without the need for expensive materials or physical space. It's a return to Babbage, but without the brass and high accuracy machining.
Ed


I only wish Minecraft (i.e. "stock / vanilla" Minecraft without any "MODS") was suited to building a mechanical computer.

All of the Minecraft computers (that I'm aware of), are built using Minecraft's "Redstone" circuitry.

So the CPU's that have been built are very much "electrical" rather than mechanical.

Minecraft does have electrical-mechanical "pistons", but they are "powered" by "electrical" Redstone, not directly mechanically. (I.e by water flow / waves, which Minecraft also has).

Mike


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 9:50 am 
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Does Minecraft's physics/hydraulics allow for a water-based machine? Could you make channels, sluices, and tanks? If you could make a piston, you might be in business.


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 1:00 pm 
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Actually there are some examples of water based "logic gates".

But when I last looked at them, it was hard to see how they worked.

In the latest version of minecraft, a guy built something he called the Commandore computer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go5qdMKZs-M

He uses "scoreboard scripting" which was added a couple of versions ago. So most of the action of the cpu is hidden in script code.

But he uses an interesting technique, employing a new addition to Minecraft, namely moveable "conducting" Redstone Blocks. There are script commands to let you move / create / destroy these blocks.

But the script commands have an awkward syntax, such that there is limited "variable substitution" allowed. Therefore he has "hard coded" one "scanner block / command block" for each of the 256 memory slots, with an empty "air gap / block" between the row of scanner blocks, and a row of "trigger / command " blocks.

As the minecraft redstone "clock" fires, the command blocks create "conducting" Redstone blocks (all 256 at once (or was it two blocks of 128 .. I forget), and the one possible value is detected by the associated trigger block.

Surprisingly with all the over head / layers of abstraction, the CPU runs at ~30 Hz or so ;)

He has also created a color "graphics" "GPU" with redstone / command blocks.

=================
There is also at least one mod that I played with a while ago, that has water wheels, which I was hoping to use. I made some basic progress with them, didn't get as far as any logic gates though.

The water wheels only interacted with redstone "electricity", though. I am looking for something that is mechanical.

I also played with a Steam game, called Gary's mod. Last I looked at it, it had some better physical things than Minecraft (balls dropping on levers, etc). I didn't get too far with that either.

Rather than "obey" the "laws" of these games, I've also experimented with some 3d animation stuff, to try to illustrate low-level cpu architecture.

Mike


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 1:37 pm 
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I think perhaps the free program Blender can do physics-based 3D animation now?

I found some excellent videos showing mechanical computation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXMuJco8onQ (Pinwheel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h71HAJWnVU (Pascaline)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyCrDI7hRpE (Arithmometer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loI1Kwed8Pk (Curta)


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