noun
a computer that represents information by variable quantities (e.g., positions or voltages)
• Syn: ↑analogue computer
• Hypernyms: ↑computer, ↑computing machine, ↑computing device, ↑data processor, ↑electronic computer, ↑information processing system
• Hyponyms: ↑differential analyzer, ↑slide rule, ↑slipstick
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noun also analogue computer : a computer that operates with numbers represented by directly measurable quantities (as voltages or rotations)
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a computer that represents data by measurable quantities, as voltages or, formerly, the rotation of gears, in order to solve a problem, rather than by expressing the data as numbers. Cf. digital computer.
[1945-50, Amer.]
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analog computer,
an electronic calculating machine or automatic control which deals directly with physical quantities, such as weights, voltages, or lengths, rather than with a numerical code.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.