Most computers are digital, meaning they display
information in discrete intervals, as the relevant
values and quantities are calculated in greater or
smaller increments. Analog computers instead use the
(5) continuous change of natural (or at least physical)
phenomena to model and represent calculations as they
occur, without piecewise division. Slide rules and
astrolabes are comparatively primitive forms of analog
computer; the other end of the spectrum boasts
(10) contraptions like the differential analyzer, which uses
wheels and discs to solve differential equations, and
the gun director, which uses trigonometry to calculate
data about a moving target and relay it to a weapon
operator.
(15) One of the more remarkable analog computers is the
Phillips Hydraulic Computer, also known as the
Financephalograph and as the MONIAC (Monetary National
Income Analogue Computer), created in 1949 by New
Zealand economist William Phillips, then a student at
(20) the London School of Economics. In essence, the MONIAC
uses fluidics-where compressible media mimic
operations performed by electronics-to simulate a
nation's economic processes, in this case those of the
United Kingdom. It comprises a series of plastic tanks
(25) and pipes mounted to a wooden board, each tank standing
for a discrete economic element; water is used to
represent money, such that controlling its flow to and
from different tanks, by use of various taps and pumps,
models the holistic effect of each transaction. If water
(30) is released from the "treasury" tank and directed to
a lower "health care" tank, the changes caused in
equilibrium throughout the entire system can be
monitored continuously. Phillips found that the MONIAC
could be calibrated to an impressive degree of accuracy,
(35) which in turn made it an eminently serviceable economic
simulator, anticipating as it did most modern modeling
software.
According to the passage, the MONIAC:
Choices
A
Predated the invention of computerized economic simulations
B
Was used as an economic prediction engine until replaced by software
C
Was created for an assignment at the London School of Economics
D
Could not have been built without funding from the English government
E
Was initially conceived as a theoretical simulation device
information in discrete intervals, as the relevant
values and quantities are calculated in greater or
smaller increments. Analog computers instead use the
(5) continuous change of natural (or at least physical)
phenomena to model and represent calculations as they
occur, without piecewise division. Slide rules and
astrolabes are comparatively primitive forms of analog
computer; the other end of the spectrum boasts
(10) contraptions like the differential analyzer, which uses
wheels and discs to solve differential equations, and
the gun director, which uses trigonometry to calculate
data about a moving target and relay it to a weapon
operator.
(15) One of the more remarkable analog computers is the
Phillips Hydraulic Computer, also known as the
Financephalograph and as the MONIAC (Monetary National
Income Analogue Computer), created in 1949 by New
Zealand economist William Phillips, then a student at
(20) the London School of Economics. In essence, the MONIAC
uses fluidics-where compressible media mimic
operations performed by electronics-to simulate a
nation's economic processes, in this case those of the
United Kingdom. It comprises a series of plastic tanks
(25) and pipes mounted to a wooden board, each tank standing
for a discrete economic element; water is used to
represent money, such that controlling its flow to and
from different tanks, by use of various taps and pumps,
models the holistic effect of each transaction. If water
(30) is released from the "treasury" tank and directed to
a lower "health care" tank, the changes caused in
equilibrium throughout the entire system can be
monitored continuously. Phillips found that the MONIAC
could be calibrated to an impressive degree of accuracy,
(35) which in turn made it an eminently serviceable economic
simulator, anticipating as it did most modern modeling
software.
According to the passage, the MONIAC:
Choices
A
Predated the invention of computerized economic simulations
B
Was used as an economic prediction engine until replaced by software
C
Was created for an assignment at the London School of Economics
D
Could not have been built without funding from the English government
E
Was initially conceived as a theoretical simulation device
