textbook-theory · English
The Heath Electronic Analog Computer: Its Usage for the Solution of Engineering Problems
A 1962 Master of Science thesis from Villanova University presenting a tutorial on electronic analog computation using the Heath Electronic Analog Computer, which features fifteen operational amplifiers, potentiometers, initial-condition power supplies, four relays with four transfer contacts each, and eight vacuum diodes operating in repetitive (0.6–6 cps) or non-repetitive modes. The thesis develops a systematic amplitude and time scaling methodology and demonstrates it through worked examples including second-order linear differential equations, simultaneous first-order systems, a servomechanism simulation, and a proposed frequency analyzer. Special circuits for multiplication, dead time, dead space, and hysteresis are also surveyed, and the Heath machine is assessed as an excellent educational introduction to analog methods.