Rolling Ball Sim
I've wanted to do a mechanical computer for a long time. I have a few mechanisms in mind that I think will get me far enough, but I would like to be able to test my ideas quickly. I can do a 2d simulation that runs almost as a cellular automata. Simple rules like a ball will fall the the square below it. If that square is a a ramp, it will be deflected.
- Ramps
- Cams
- Active (responds to signals)
- passive (pushed by other cams)
- gaps
- ramps
- Signals
- Generator
- Sensor
- Source (from signal)
- Levers
- Flip-flop
- memory
- Weighted
- Teleporter (this lets us simulate multiple dimensions)
- In gate
- Out gate
Try building the binary adder first.
Also see Rolling ball sculptures