DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIRST HYDRAULIC ANALOG COMPUTER

ALEKSANDAR PETRovIc*

Mihailo Petrovic Alas (1868-1943), inventor of the first hydraulic analog

computer for resolving differential equations, was professor of mathematics at
Belgrade University, a member of the Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences and a
member of the Czech, Polish and Romanian academies of sciences. He started his
studies at the Department of Natural and Mathematical Sciences of the Great
School in Belgrade, where he obtained a comprehensive knowledge in mathemat-
ics and natural sciences -physics, chemistry, geology, biology, psychology and
philosophyl. Petrovic continued his studies in Paris, at the Ecole Normale Supe-
rieure where scientific universality was strongly encouraged. His professors of
mathematics, mechanics and physics had a strong influence on his turning toward
phenomenology and general problems of the mathematical modeling of diverse
processesz. At the time of Petrovic’s studying, the French school of mathematics
was at its peak. He graduated first in mathematics (1892), then in physics (1893)
and soon after, in 1894 he was awarded his Ph.D. degree. His thesis, Sur les zéros
ez‘ Zes infinis des intégrales des équations dzflérenrielles algébrz'ques3, committed
to the intensive exploration of differential equations characteristics from equa-
tions themselves, was examined by Charles Hermite, Emile Picard and Paul Pru-
dent Painlevé.
From 1894 to 1938 Mihailo Petrovic was professor of theoretical mathematics
at Belgrade Great School (in 1905 it became an University), he taught 45 gene-
rations of students, published 257 papers and books on mathematics, obtained 5
patents in France4 and founded a very active mathematical school which succes-

1. The most important influence on him had his professor of mechanics, Ljubomir Kleric (1844-
1910), who designed and constructed several cinematic computing instruments (1875-1899). Petrovic
did not construct nor invent new types of cinemators, but dealt with changes in their structure, trying to
get more flexible conditions for solving wider classes of differential equations. He worked on a
cinematic rationalizator for calculating ephemerides, enlarged the possibilities of professor Kleric’s
tractoriograph, established the relation between the retification (cuwimetre) and the quadrature
(integraph), and showed how an integraph could be replaced by a curvimetre.
2. Here should be mentioned his professor of Mechanics, M. Koenigs, who taught Calculating
Technics, and the professor of Physics, Gabriel Lippmann, later a Nobel Prize winner (1908), who
liked Petrovic and considered him his best student.
3. Published by Gauthier — Villars, Paris, 1894.
4. Telemetre a sextant (Distance Measuring Device, 1910), Engrenages en vrille (Automatic Car
Gearshift, 1913), Cadran calendrier pour objects d’horlogerie (Eternal Calendar, 1916), Submersibilité
du navire (Depth Measuring Device, presented to the British Admirality in 1919), Aiguille aimantee
dans un champ magnétique mobile (Minesweeper, 1920).

* Serbian Society of History of Science

Brsjacka 1
11160 Belgrade (Serbia and Montenegro).
98 Aleksandar Petrovic

sful development was radically slowed down after the breakdown of the Kingdom
of Yugoslavia. He was appointed the educator to the crown-prince George Kara-
djordjevic, who wrote long, enthusiastic letters about Einstein’s lectures in Paris
to his teacher in 1936 ; also he was the scientific mentor to his assistant-professor,
Sima Markovic, later the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Yugosla-
via, who obtained his doctor’s degree with the thesis Common Riccati is Equation
of the First Order in 1914. The crown-prince was forced to abdicate and the
secretary disappeared in Moscow as a victim of Stalin’s purges and was replaced
by Josip Broz. Petrovic allocated 13 doctorates, but only one of his students,
Konstantin Orlov, continued the work on his theory. Among mathematicians, his
best known student was Jovan Karamata (1902-1967), later a professor at the
University of Geneva5.

Professor Mihailo Petrovic

Seemingly simple, the biography of Mihailo Petrovic has a “renaissance”

dimension as well. The same year Petrovic received his PhD degree, he also
passed the exam for a master fisherman, and became a member of the Société
mathématique de France. His doctoral and fisherman’s diplomas were hung side
by side on the wall of his study where the only furniture consisted of an iron mar-
tial bed, a writing table and a chair6. He wrote many articles on fish and fishing,
constructed some new types of fishing tools, and prepared exhibitions on fishing
in Serbia in some European capitals ; he set up some piscatorial societies, wrote
laws and international treaties on fishery as well as its history. Until his death he

5. See : Aleksandar Nikolic, “ Dealing with Two Famous Results of Jovan Karamata ”, Archives
internationales d’histoire des sciences, 48, 141 (1998), 353
6. Petrovic’s nickname “ Alas ”, which could not be separated from his real name, means “ a river
fisherman ”.
 Development of the first hydraulic analog computer 99

alternatively taught mathematics, did his scientific work, and went into fishing
with his fellow fishermen on the Danube and the Sava rivers7.
Petrovic took part in five French scientific expeditions, and traveled across the
Atlantic ocean, from the far Arctic north (1931, 1933) to the far Antarctic south
(1934) ; he also visited distant islands in the south of the Indian ocean (1935). He
depicted the memoirs from these journeys into interesting traveloguesg. For a
very long time he passionately tried to resolve the secret of the procreation of
European and African eels, explored as far back by Aristotle. In 1932 he joined
an expedition to the Sargasso Sea and afterwards, persuaded by friends, Wrote
The Novel on the Eelg, never wanting to publish its last chapter.
-'= I ‘FY =-'-"'.T- ‘II -“--vs‘-2-'-..-=-. ""‘-'““' ,1\'"’*"‘-<T'=“'- .:I='"" F‘ -'1'..-;.- ‘ '.=u-*1 - '-'-.'-.\-.'= -
‘ . .- m
,...--T~'=- __ 5 .';=;‘I . 1-:-+4:
‘=@:»“ -" ;..-;_._- _. "'. if,.| - 4*-='»t*¢-I"-, I. -i" .' : _ ._ _ .\£;¥-('1'
J.1____\_‘ :5‘.-. _. I$1’
. -. - . $- '" sfil " ''-x
= . fin“ |,|i._:_1&:.‘-, _ ‘J‘= .:. - .15)?’-._.-‘_,-\___\§:\;;\§\¢..5I|.|.i_:,._ ' ' _.;,_.-_‘~_ _ :__ ' ._= J5} -(.r- . *1‘I‘ . .;__r-,|__,i:\,:.-. in-,| J, 2 _._._fl§_h .,-pf. ._
.. ;-r.-, V?, _._.“,,_?;_:
- . ';- - '- ‘==I-. = - . "-' .-" . '-=."-" >;l-J:_.7|.|:~_4"'._- . --“'_,,=i-\+..-1'-'- .; 1- ,-.u-.-'- -,_*'._ .--~=-1.,--'-".-'»"=‘ -;-j-
\F-.~.'_: Y ;.- . _= .-aw?!-.-'-.=‘L'!“-. 1 '-I TE-'.‘Ii-' ' — - 1'1-_ ' . ,-.-.'.__;,--.'-'1;11§;\T¥'§§i'—.."-.."j-_§.-‘,,'.%}_-.--5.; \ .11 H7.1-. _,=ll""w='-I'll-2 -_ - -. _- . -‘I-"H ‘N;-,.
- . -. -,. -. . I .. -
'--- -- ' - -'1;-'-. . I-‘ "~'- '\ ..l-'--'-.'b.-.'1-' . .2 -1-r."== -.- -.; 7"|:‘A,'.'||'r'g|.- ":\'*"1|-1,. : - -'-_. '- .._' -' _'c _=3,=_=.'.‘- ."- < ? .~_- 1. . ' . .',--, -'-_-,,;| .?--
. -. -
\.~...~-""~ '|!!'i::'.‘-I.l-<!t.'.'\ - . “vi .- ...- .— - .-\-.-....1r.. . .. . .--=\1'--:‘\,...--“"-'.=‘T,- 1- A ._ ... -\.. .
'\-\'=1i.-' -~- "\‘!<*-:.';5'.-* .--.-_= ...--"é.''v=-\.'-'='--.-
.'-'- -- - = -r ".--'é=‘f':-'??-
..*-L‘.---= - . .'.=.---< :5. ' 1:.--. \.-. -“$1”-..—---‘ z--.- - .' '-- .. F. 1-. 1=.-. ..:a-...\-we--'.\->.\-é-' -'
.- .-
-. "1 - .- $3-~ . '--'r.\<-'
. - ' - -= -~=\-4!-I"? *" --
...¢-.-a..n\‘-!.!-=.---'---
- \A' .'- ' - --'- - . ---05 --.\- 1-.~. "L\',' as-..=. -I.--.1-1.-~ -_-..., -- -. -'.'=-.-;--- -_: - :.=--- -sh - -' --='..»."--.. 1. 2 . - -. -\3'!.'-5-.*-. -.1|- |...'---. '. -'.-.=\--1<I- ‘ 4. - - -.. - - -.-- . -.--r.-~¢=r
..=:-. .1-=.-mm-M--.
- - I‘ “'- =.~'-*-'
r -.-,-,_.p»,-.-e_-;1\...
—.--' --_"-=§~:;-}‘;I;':.E=\
-...-*11.--1-:\E-1' : -1-“\-.' .' , s-';-J-1;-'-\'.-1"?‘
=.:-‘- ,"'_\‘--‘,1. a'§-‘-£'I=-'-.'.'i?-:"..'.'-11-.'=i»\'5*.>-'-_.‘F.\'-ié'."
-~.?a:-_--5 -.-.-.' ; .-it-_-.=;‘-_—.",.-.- - --, .r-'.':. '--~=.-- ~-'-\.'--!-"-?»~‘§';."-1-.-'Er-
|_3¢' 1 ' - I1 _-7.; -"-i‘-
.._..--.__ -.-.' '- -.1,;- fig; —1': __.,._“__._..
'7-'"" -' - i='.\_-,.:;--
.-,.s:~-~-.
. .- - :\- _. --.- 1 ,.'.--..r_--.1. "1;.~ :-._,-,-g\r_=_.
-“.->.‘.‘1.--.' .._. 'i|i_\,-\'_-.-
t- --L, ----i , --..=---n
_ =,.;- _-,- .. -;_-;1',~:.|§;_'5&"..'|\.-I.--.1--.
-.- -.-.-_-.-=.-I-s-.1--,»“"'\.--,1-._=;\='~..-..-_- . ,1.=..--,.
-_.-... --r -. -_. _- ._..-..r..~ - _ --.--,-i=_¢,..-.-- -=‘gs
I-1-,-'3;-f<-.-_ -- N-_,,.;._; .,. :- ~1__. . . __-_-_-_-.- . _-_-.-
if-_-.1--_,_;\ _;~ - -- _ -f-<‘ . _ _ . _.~-_--,
-.~>' .-_|=
_,,’;.’_;é‘--\;_,
I- ._
- 1' _'
7.. -. .1‘-:,\
\.,+':- '- ;5'1--.47,.-;\1&i\'l'--,-.11, -%',I.'.,'q'-_...L'. ..-"-;\,.'_-.:--_-,'.‘;T.,-1' - --.-gr-;::i\._-, - - - .- _--__ -.'.'-~; __---;-'='-?la,;-
F ..
. -i .. _
J .. ,
". *-
. . r
.-*-
- . \ F, ,... .,. .- .,. A
-
, .. g . ..\ |..-_I_\._|._.lh;‘_
'

... I "Q.-1.;é‘ ;f" ='§-1T-»-_. 5-I .

125'1'1'-‘E __.-._-_l.u_. '1-, '.;'=;i I=' .'r.=-' -_ 1 .-3'-‘IF'="' .y;' g'{L-;-._
- ' .
1.. . _',j'-._-_ . .£K.__=_-_
'. ___-F;
1':
-55’
3.5- j,-., I=_f‘1. -.3; 3- '
'1'
=pi-.\-'-.-. ‘-'"=~:.:f i-37: -'_' -----;.-;_,. 4-..,=_,. ,1.‘- _-‘.,f L ;'gr._.'= ____ -1-.-‘:4. .-+_-1z: '-; -.',- .'-¢7'l. 5_‘\ I.';’:'.'ei
,.-;---,_.;.i-.'-:-_- ‘.'-".- =-f ?.’ I>1.- _-.-r_--.-‘-jg-=_.-"$3--.
- ,,.
'-Z j‘ -_.. - J -- '1-;;=-=1--=_.., ,- .'-:.- - - _- -.-'=.; e H7 - - "1.. ,.'--.-.='=j-i.',=-.__;-qr ';_." __.'-.~;_" _-_,;-;.__»j_r-_= 15¢?‘ ,-_-.;.;=
” .-,1 .-‘Fa?-;..--.'.1 -' ' I-L11‘-I'r1@-' . .-2:5.-*.'~., ',,- 5.6.-' -- l'.' '-'-?';::"--3.,.- ..=,§‘F= .; :---;_-.;_ ,-.;.; _-.-,»_ _‘. 1:» '-i_»_":- .-1:,-';.'!;
-1'. “ i‘ .u=..¥.-.-'
~.'
-'- .' . '
-- --.-'-.1¢-i-1
.-~ ,_
".|:"'-'F-K,‘;Ii"$"_¥'5'.|_'lE|_'."".§>;'
- _-, \‘-;LJ-=l---'- -. -- .-
- --- .-"f-=- T1-.1‘-3“. 2;"-\I-.-t =-,-'- .--,.."‘},
1-..-.—. --.-.. -\.--_'..,..--' .. -,-_-
.-r--~' _. -= ._,_- _-. _ 7.,_ -.1' ,. _;_ -;=.'-\f,=-:.'=. -F mg.-, .-'---1.1-;.~-1.5,-. r,=.-*,-;J-=,’;--=-
;=- '- - =2. ,_ =:-.'1¢=..»-. —-_ =.-'-.\.;.=-.1---'..
J .' - \ - -“-.. ‘-'.":n'-
I " , .1‘.ail-'-J=="'J'-'-fir-._.'-I"',;"
“ ’ H r s ‘|-.‘.-—',:‘.:;| R’-_-'-‘£1 ~;‘3ig,. .(-..==.=.-'i;- 1Z-;..‘1=- -'-j 1. i;‘,,l*' --'*-‘---''T;=-' .. :=-
-"3»";' -....-,_ .I- -. .. \';p.;-'- .~ .' . .1‘-:.;.--,:i.. I.‘-_a_._-._. 1-,=:v‘ .‘.--.'=_-1;-.1‘
‘,...fi.. j§,_.:.:;:j.-_%'-f~1s;jg.,@=g{-s¢;;,'
,\..,-,:_.;-_\--2*-.-..-5-.; —
¢,.1‘-"1.-T-;_;,. _'~... .‘_.j-31;,--153.,-‘=5.--.1-.'
_.;-i1..,,-.-1,;-1?.-,1.-.-(1j-I
<<\ '=.'{:_'v_
.-" -. ,9,
~ e1"-<'=. Ti
' “ =
fl l i . : ‘rift “ 5'§'):',: ‘.'.v -2
} Z?.'5?:€i -T‘7.
=';31:¥*zt@-s'%_.-_-,1,=.;=.{§_-. $1‘-,':§'.?’-' -. ,1_."_r_;I; - ~-F ,--;,‘.~
-in. .'=»==.=' ,.;:'
:"'=<‘1.3 . .'§.-r»-,,_
2-'_-in§r‘:~"'; =*.’;'+?.L':
‘=~ 1'1"-hiT1. iii
1?:- 5"-' 1;-.e: 5-j:"i3-.,-._.'
- :7if-_f-"‘.
_.: *F=-_.'uw.\_-\;,.-‘_=.:__-..:_..- _' ''.-5.'€?§%_
1“=31.
. F?=‘-.\; -;.
F1-'’l*’":‘"\."' =5’? .‘_¥v'=.-.\Pi’? 'e§.‘g+*_l ~,+-;1; . r“
=i'=:,€-J

-1-;~---.-.-1.1:)"'_:_(-,_;,__-_\._,~..;e_
-5\--..--“F?-i\=1.-".-.1 _v.-.;,_--.-:~_\<‘; -. .=-; :T " _ _--' '- -. ‘ <.i--.- _.-_.-_;,-_--».-._._-; _ ;I.%‘Ii.=i~ v-_ 1-,=.-1 _|- - -.--..--.-if.,.;.¢,,.g_ --.. :-.1-> ;-_ --I -11-1"-‘\:1_a_;',.;_;'__j'-L-.-‘.1!-._-||'_:=:i
._--5-._-1%?»-.2-:§.@§.=;“;s ..--.~.§_,:._-, ;..-. 1-M-,
'__.--¢_____,-_>3,,_=- J
; .», .;.L:|3.,=.,.:-_i__:-.;_,%:.-;::4;?,___R ____I;____|;_,_T-T Tjlll ___i_.;_.I __j%'_;__._l:__.1:|;.If:Irr. . ..-. .__I_-_'-;--z__L@.£_E;__|_',£€_.,_%.fi:,._,;_:,,%.___,,;.-_.,-_.,.__l_,-__.__ 1,: ¢,,m__.uf%
1-.111;
. :1, . .-r-e.!.'
..-.. £-.'.1»\.\l
-r"? aw -i»-'=~1:--_-'.
.>.< '.-- ,-.'-- <>- , -.'- .., . -.1-.-, .1: --"--?—-,--':.-.- ..- .'e":1\'
. = _‘==4'\-.-.- --.‘.;..:..-.=='-F---;.
'3‘ _- _-.._ . .
._ r .... 1. .
_- .|, .\ At ._-.. 1. .. ,.._ ,1 .
4-- r "
. .- ,-I ;_ .. -.-.-= . -..- ;.- .-~_ -,,..-_-... - , .. - _--- i
$31‘
-(1
"C "' 51*»; -3-\.{-J1 '3';

"L
2 -2» 4,, "‘ "7 T‘
.-
1 3 - _ _ 1%‘ *t‘ r
.'3!!..-Z,:‘_;3‘- re ‘- '-5 F
il1k'H -v-e
‘E. .-_'='.,.;.~-__-
-."-i'.."‘-‘r =1--.i-7:1, _: ‘--='=-=-.=.- "‘Ii:.“i1.i=-.'-.
:;~-‘]_=j_
j-,'a;._-m1'_7:.=pf';_-§_I;-€.-= ‘is-.=.,_,-"_,. ‘.-., hi- -. *-,--7-.1;'*.-.=-'.i1',-_=-;=l-i_'e=_.~i_'=-.: -1i=_..1;\':*#;=.'_i=-g. t.~‘ ""I':'".v'-."'1" 7"""\-F=7v.',»"1:-f-"|‘-'x-\.- . "u-'-*.i7:-3:".~ '-. ‘-_\."I-..
_:'.==r.'=-i-?‘
._-.'i1-..Ft;=-*2~.-1;"-'.T' i '-'1;.
'1--'-.1-"'“‘-»'= ,'#-*' =' - L",-=_*-.
I¢-. i25,‘3i_€I-&_;Z§
YE=¥'‘-'5j,-_‘1:,;:=-";,“'-I._'1-'El“'T~?»‘<_'-
;".=__,"=11--'-'-.‘"-."?-'-"."-.3. .-
_.
. -- -“"'=. =. -=.*-'.*>.; ‘ -'r.-:'.-f=: .‘~;-‘=;~._=%-.'r=*.,-=3-. =_-{ .'-;_.,‘-_,=j_-":.-=‘ _,.1-=.-; r',§=*r;‘-L"_1;K'=-‘ '“=_1-‘fi*w)='\vIe-%"'»fl;‘=1<"'-."‘§\~-‘".5'i¥."‘ _.,._.9;i.,_.1___,_-_.-_‘,.-g,-31'. 'i. ':-"-..=-.'t"n-'.-:=;.rT: ;,._-1' ‘-1?_:;i¢_“
‘":if'_%"-T-'?*=._§ gr ;-.‘<»'-T §iel‘§.'*I-:1
4'
1--3 -..-.1.‘ ma,-.-,,_.-'___
.- _ ‘-1:.-1
., =;-.,.__¥.1;,-.._ -.=.-..,;-,»_\-at-,,~"
. "1*-"K.:-‘1_.*-'‘1:-'-"-=_"f.T;3_‘1_'
_;‘.=~_»;‘.- '. ._,’I\_:~ 1-1.1‘»- ";11".'-.“-.:‘_-"'.f1.=_ '-."-,'=§“ . ",1-‘<="-"3,.'‘.1em‘
_\“Ij-;‘ -'1'3
I"
:.-._ =,.._.-.=i'.».=.
',-._1.
._'1;.|-E-.
i'“-.' ‘T-"=..l4-'!*“‘-.I\-r
.{5_'-»1_;-\~v_=',A.' _=;_'.,-
'.=j-'_._1._"_,l‘;1_'-_1"-¢*‘/‘~;
.~.=;__.3.‘ ‘,-1._- :i_ -_--.=-2'it.-'"-.-.
_\_._;=__~_, .,<:=q_-;‘1:.?-—r-1.-
-;=1>..’';-1-.=;.-. 1=4-
-*_1\.‘-1 .-v <5?-.1
.,_I-¥".,»'S_.-'i_\)i_-_"-,=\-:1_‘!\-.E_f-‘.€L~',\I=_n-,<;‘,<Z,_;
_--=-.. -,_‘;~_.g_~_4.!-,7:13,;-p-.-.1-.-_-5§.!:=.--_-;-+';.---:,l.-_-.- -_1-2;.
-,"-f11*=:;-‘.I;~1;
";'.1 ii . . 4Lit .. .
} gr.‘isl-..1‘--..-.--.-."?!;r--._\-,=.-ff‘. __‘.-.:_,.='; -.:u,; "-.' - J
<.\_._-.1-»\,-;,.1_¢.~;=-.--__. 1 "‘.1.--'-‘‘LE.
-'-.:.-.;--.-.g-.=t‘._-.'-,='-Es-;',
:-.=.-..-.
,-‘J,--,__
. ._
'':.=§=-'\>-;=.-'.,:‘n=.‘_- = -E--‘-==-'' '. -- t..- .:<- '.
‘l:fgiJ(1q‘-'\J=»'-..-:!.1-=-".'_H\ ‘“"5-‘Z

Professor Petrovic with his “ Musical Band-Suz ”

He lived very modestly, but from time to time he spent nights in Belgrade’s
restaurants playing on the violin traditional songs and melodies with his
“ Musical Band-Suz ” and recorded about 1000 of those for Radio Belgrade (all
this records disappeared on April 6th 1941 in the German bombing). He did not
like public promotionslo, but occasionally prepared feasts for numerous friends
— members of the Academy and professors as well as fishennen and restaurant
musicians. In 1941, at the age of 73, he was captured and deported to a prison
camp as lieutenant colonel of the Yugoslav Royal Army. He grimly survived the
breakdown of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and therefore by pure decision, not
undergoing any disease, died in 1943, one year after his return from Germany.
VVhat could not be destroyed are ~— his ideas. “ His life is proof of his honest devo-
tion to mathematics, fishing, science expeditions, music, people... He sank into

7. He lived on the rivers, but never learned to swim : he nearly drowned ll times, even though
Milutin Milankovic (author of The Canon oflnsolatton) tried to teach him how to swim.
8. Through the Polar Ffield Belgrade, 193 2, In the Kingdom ofPirates Belgrade, 1933, With Ocean
Fishermen Belgrade, 1935, On Remote Islands, Belgrade, 1936.
9. The Novel on the Eel, Belgrade, 1940
10. His only public statement was : “ God knows that I am not responsible for this ”, given in the
moment of receiving Doctor Honoris Causa diploma of the Belgrade University.
100 Aleksandar Petrovic

that multiple life and whatever set him apart from that, stressing form over
essence — he rejected pitilessly, as something that endangers his right to live and
act in freedom "11.

Although educated in the best traditions of the French school, Petrovic created
a science which flew upstream, for it has an inexorably holistic approach in the
time when specialization was spreading irresistibly. Moreover, his dream about
building mathematical Arcadia was interlaced by whirlpools of wars. In spite of
that, from 1912 to 1918, although he was not taking off his captain’s uniform, he
published tens of scientific papers and patents.
As a mathematician, Petrovic was devoted to the Classical Analysis which is,
generally speaking, the exploration of the properties of various real or complex
functions defined by power series, definite integrals or solutions of differential
equations. He was the founder of two new mathematical disciplines : the first was
the theory of Mathematical Spectra for resolving problems in arithmetic, algebra
and infinitesimal calculus, similar to the spectral method in chemical analyseslz.
This theory was founded as a result of successful work on cryptography during
the First World War. “ It consists of dispersing prior or auxiliary unknown quan-
tities in a certain problem into a numeral spectrum, much like a prism in the spec-
tral analysis dispersing a bundle of light rays into a spectrum of light. Unknown
quantities are dispersed, separated and determined in the same way as it is done
with unknown chemical elements in spectral analysis. The number that gives a
spectrum through its own dispersing plays the same role as analyzed bundle of
rays : one special analytical function, a spectrum generatrix, plays the same role
as a prism that disperses rays into a spectrum "13. This theory could be considered
an anticipation of two important mathematical principles : the data linearization
of a certain problem throughout its mathematical processing ; and
“ goedelization ”, i.e. making use of natural numbers to articulate all symbols,
formulas, theorems and proofs of a mathematical theory. In 1928 Petrovic gave a
course “ Mathematical Spectra ” at the Faculté des sciences — Université de Paris.
He proposed the use of spectra to astronomers because of the economy of calcu-
lations -multiplying the great mass of ordered pairs of real numbers could be
reduced to multiplying one only. However, this theory attracted only a few fol-
lowers, because spectra are natural numbers of vast length. The theory could be
applied very efficiently today in the digital environment.

ll. Prince George Karadjordjevic, The Truth About My Life, Belgrade, 1969, 423
12. Mihailo Petrovic, Les spectres numériques, Gauthier Villars, Paris, 1919, VI1+110 p; M.
Petrovic, Legons sur les Spectres rnathérnatiques (professées a la Sorbonne en 1928), Gauthier Villars,
Paris, 1928, II+90 p.
13. Mihailo Petrovic, Phenomenology of Correspondence, Serbian Royal Academy of Science,
Belgrade, 1933, 58.
 Development of the first hydraulic analog computer 101

Second discipline established by Petrovic was Mathematical Phenomenology

which basically attempts to comprise and to aggregate phenomena previously
inaccessible to mathematical research14. He wanted to construct a genuine mathe-
matical picture of the world, which would not be only theoretical, but which
would make mechanics of phenomena conductible, no matter of what kind the
phenomena are. In doing so, he comprehended mathematically mechanics, phy-
sics, chemistry, biochemistry, electrodynamics as well as descriptive sciences,
such as economics, sociology and medicine. This extensive mathematical disci-
pline has never been accepted under the name of “mathematical
phenomenology”, but as “ dynamic systems” or “theory of chaos” it is still
close to the ideas of Petrovic.
The fundamental idea of his mathematical phenomenology was that one can
affirm, by an adequate mathematical apparatus, the correspondence of facts and
ensures the linking of apparently tniconnected phenomena belonging to different
levels of natural events. Petrovic believed that, “ apart from numbers, dimensions
and orders, modern mathematics should capture other general details in the world
of facts that are independent from the concrete nature of their bearers “15.
Petrovic’s basic concern was the insight that different names were given to the
same phenomena in different domains of our perception. Because of that, the
quantity of presumptions is large and tends to be even larger. Thus, he attempted
to make it theoretically as small as possible, trying to find as many analogies
between phenomena as possible and to observe “the nucleus of analogy”, the
identity of mathematical relations which describe different phenomena. That
identity is comprehensive and includes a certain number of equations (differential
or explicit) by which these relations are expressed, analytical form of elements
and parameters of the phenomena, their differentials or some other combinations,
as well as constants in these equations. This identity makes quantitative descrip-
tions of phenomena (no matter how much they differ) to be the same analytical
problem — integration, discussion and interpretation of the same equations. The
nucleus of analogy is a direct consequence of the “phenomenological
reduction ”, noticing the analytical equivalence of different phenomena. The
effect of the nucleus of analogy is so complete and thorough that every result
obtained for one group of phenomena can be allocated to another group, by atta-
ching one definite meaning.
The main idea of Mihailo Petrovic was that “ mathematical analogies can per-
form an additional kind of service : they are an appropriate auxiliary means for
the materialization of analytical problems. Materialization here means finding, for
a given analytical form, a real phenomenon on which the same mathematical rela-
tions could be applied, so that by following materialized process the analytical

14. Mihailo Petrovic, Mécanismes communs aux phénoménes disparates, Libraire Felix Alcan,
Paris, 1921, 279, (Nouvelle collection scientifique). Serbian edition: Elements of Mathematical
Phenomenology, Serbian Royal Academy of Science, Belgrade, 1911, XII1+774 p.
15. Mihailo Petrovic, Phenomenology ofCorrespondence, 9.
102 Aleksandar Petrovic

solution could be obtained. In this materialization the kind of relation or the kind
of particular detail that is hidden in the equations of the analytical problem and
which is difficult to highlight by purely analytical means, becomes obvious in the
definite phenomenon which the problem materializes ”16.
Mathematical analogies enable the materialization of analytical problems by
finding concrete individual phenomena which are developing under the laws des-
cribed by the same mathematical relations. Starting from this point, Petrovic ima-
gined diverse calculating machines which work according to the relations
described by differential equations. First, he conceptualized a chemical compu-
ting device and proposed some types of chemical reactions as the arithmetical
device of an analog computer for solving analytically unintegrable differential
equations, namely Riccati’s equations with constant and variable parametersn.
Riccati’s equation could be “ materialized ” by one bimolecular chemical
reaction at such a speed which varies through time following the changes in mix-
ture concentrations, active components and physical conditions (for instance,
temperature). By direct measurements of the fonned products reaction in time,
and by interpolation of table (or graph) of the data so acquired, a chemical inte-
gration of Riccati’s equation would be realized, and by that also a further integra-
tion of homogenous differential equations which generally could not be integrated
analytically. Here, for the first time Petrovic expressed a precept on simultaneous
differential equations, i.e. the theorem on differential inequalities which S.A.
Chapligin articulated in a significantly reduced form in 191718.
He was also thinking about an electric analog computer, because in his phe-
nomenology he had developed all the necessary theoretical instruments required
for its realization. Petrovic noticed the existence of “the simple analogy between
electric and hydraulic phenomena ”, because “ electric inertia, manifested in self-
induction, plays the same role in electric phenomena as the inertia of a fluid in a
hydraulic phenomena ; in such a view, the electric resistance plays the same role
as the mechanical resistance in a flow of fluid. And all that always implies the
same mathematical relations and facts in both types of these so disparate
phenomena ”19. Therefore “ the oscillatory motion of a fluid in a bended pipe, at
first opened at one side and closed at the other, after a sudden opening of the
closed side could be materialized, by analogy, through discharge of an electric
condenser with a constant or a variable resistance and a certain coefficient of self-
induction... That makes the mathematical description of these facts, no matter
how different they are, represent one and the same analytical problem, which con-
sists of solving, a discussion and an interpretation of the same equations, which

16. Mihailo Petrovic, Elements ofMathematical Phenomenology, 755.

17. Mihailo Petrovic, “ Sur l’equation differentielle de Riccati et ses applications chimiques ”,
Sitzungberichte der Konigl. - Bohmischen gesellschafi‘ der Wissenschaften, Prague, 1896, 1 -25.
18. Other priorities could also be appointed to Petrovic because his book Calculating with
numerical intervals (1932) represents a monograph on inequalities, published before the well known
book Inequalities (1934) by Hardy and Littlewood.
19. Mihailo Petrovic, Electric Analogies, Science and Technique, Belgrade 1941, 141-151.
 Development of the first hydraulic analog computer 103

makes the adequate facts analytically equal among themselves “20. According to
such prepositions, it is not hard to imagine and to construct electric analog com-
puter, but the difficulties of practical accomplishment moved him away from that
idea. But the same idea was concretized in the hydrodynamical group of pheno-
mena, already familiar to Petrovic because of, among other things, his frequent
and passionate contact with water.
At the end of XIX century hydrodynamic models had been already used for the
construction of diverse arithmetical devices. However previous attempts of
applying hydraulics in computing technics were conceptualized very reductively
and did not exceed bare implementation of Archimedes’s hydrostatic principlem.
Petrovic was the first to propose an efficient computing machine called Hydro
Integrator for solving differential equations based on analogy with hydrodyna-
mics. He was dissatisfied with contemporary mechanical calculating apparatuses
and their unreliable system of wheels, cogs, wires, levers and cams ; also he was
not contented because existing computers were reduced to solving one particular
task or task type. They did not tolerate systematic change of their modules, com-
ponent parts, but only allowed a shift of the input data. He edited the shape and
the disposition of his computer’s parts and by such a programming made it pos-
sible to solve a significantly wider range of differential equations as well as to
construct various algebraic and transcendental curves.
The principles applied in the construction of this Hydro Integrator had never
been applied in any calculating machine before. Petrovic himself said “that all
the intergraphs and apparatus for graphic integration of individual types of diffe-
rential equations proposed before, had been based on entirely different principles
of a purely cinematic nature, which are far less suitable for realization and pro-
duce types of equations that are less general, than the hydraulic principle ”22. He
constructed his Hydro Integrator in order to perform “the materialization of the
Riccati’s differential equation which is not eligible for analytical integration in a
general case "23. It was a foremost challenge for him and since he observed that
“its integration is related to the numerous questions concerning advanced geo-
metry, mechanics and physics ”24 he wanted to attempt its graphical integration.
In accordance to this, he wanted his computer to be deduced from the logic of
natural phenomena, and not to be its mechanical imitation. As such, it had a very
wide-ranging mathematical relevance and served for “ the graphical integration of
extensive classes of differential equations, including types that nowadays could

20. Phenomenology of Correspondence, 71-72.

21. Petrovic owned a Walther Dyck’s Catalog rnathematischer und mathematisch — physikalischer
Modelle — Apparate und Instrumente. (Mtinchen, 1892-3) in which various mathematically designed
instruments were described.
22. Mihailo Petrovic, “ Sur l’integration hydraulique des equations differentielles ”, American
Journal ofMathematics, XX, 4 (1898), Baltimore, 293.
23. Mihailo Petrovic, Phenomenology of Correspondence, 78.
24. Mihailo Petrovic, “On Hydraulic Integration”, Serbian Technical Journal, IX (1898),
Belgrade, 1.
104 Aleksandar Petrovic

not be integrated by any known method; for determination of definite integral

value; for construction of curves of the equations which contain indefinite
integrals; for construction of various algebraic and transcendental curves, and
generally, for graphical resolving of various problems ”25.
Before Petrovic, nobody had come to the idea of such a computer because
analogies were perceived only practically, ad hoc. For instance, his professor,
Gabriel Lipmann, pointed out to the analogies between thermodynamic and elec-
tric phenomena. James Clerk Maxwell, John V.S. Rayleigh, Ludwig Boltzmann,
Hendrik A. Lorentz also illustrated different phenomena by analogies. However,
Petrovic was the first who actually made a general mathematical theory of analo-
gies26. Lord Kelvin observed analogies between different natural phenomena sta-
ting that the real understanding of one natural phenomenon means the ability for
making its mechanical model. He successfully implemented perceived analogies
and on that basis in 1876 he realized his Harmonic Synthesizer, analog computer
conceptualized by the need to predict the heights of the tide in ports. It was a spe-
cialized device where summation is performed by a wire and pulley system, and
resultant water height is recorded, like later in Petrovic’s Hydro Integrator, as a
continuous curve on a paper roll. Moreover, Kelvin said that he was “led to a
quite unexpected conclusion : it seems very remarkable to me that the general dif-
ferential equations of the second order with variable coefficients may be rigo-
rously, continuously, and in a single process solved by a machine "27.
Lord Kelvin was the first to grasp the significance of the mechanization of
integration. Most subsequent analog machines can be seen as realizations of his
ideas. He really discovered the basic feedback principle by which an integrator
mechanism can be applied to solving differential equations. But he could not
practically implement this idea, because the torque output from the wheel of his
integrator was very slight and inadequate to drive further integrating mechanism.
Theoretically speaking, problem was that Kelvin never developed a general
model for the coupling of analogies - his analogue device was created for one
specific purpose and was not suitable for general mathematical aims. As a con-
trast, Petrovic’s apparatus was designed according to mathematical needs and it
was not appropriate for industrial objectives.

II

Mihailo Petrovic presented the idea of his Hydro Integrator in the Comptes
rendus of the Paris Academy of Science in 189728. Because of the importance of

25. Ibid, 2.
26. He published the theory in French in the work Mécanismes communs aux phénomenes
disparates, but unfortunately the complete mathematical apparatus on approximately 800 pages was
given only in the Serbian edition of Elements ofMathematical Phenomenology in 1911.
27. W. Thompson, Treatise on Natural Philosophy, Vol. I, Cambridge U11. Press, 1890, 498.
28. Mihailo Petrovic, “ Sur un procédé d ’intégrati0n graphique des equations diflérentielles ”,
Comptes rendus des séances de l ’Académie des Sciences, CXXIV, 20 (1897), Paris, 1081 - 1084.
 Development of the first hydraulic analog computer 105

the paper, the Society of French Physicists made an exception and in the same
year reprinted that already published paper in its journal29. The success of the dis-
covery was proved by the bronze medal given to Petrovic at the Universal Exhi-
bition in Paris in 1900. For the invention of the Hydro Integrator, he was also
awarded a diploma from the mathematicians of London in 1907, and a prize in
Rome, in 1911. The response to Petrovic’s paper in contemporary professional
literature was also significant : his discovery was frequently mentioned and des-
cribed in detail. The originality of the invention was first confirmed by A. Price
in 190030, who explained it in detail in a monograph on instrumental mathema-
tics. In 1913, N. De Morih31 gave a separate presentation of Petrovic’s discovery
as a special method of the mechanical integration of differential equations. In
1943, A. Willers32 mentioned Petrovic’s result as a completely new solution in
analog technique, as did Kamke33 in 1942.
Petrovic founded the construction of his hydro-analog computing machine on
the laws of hydrodynamics stating that the level of liquid34 in a vessel depends
on the size and the shape of the vessel and the submerged body. It consisted of
two main parts : an arithmetical device and an input/output unit.
The arithmetical device consisted of a liquid, a vessel of a certain shape, a
body of a certain shape, and a float. Before Petrovic, only the weight of a body
was implemented in the computing process and his original contribution was the
use of the shape of a body as the carrier of information.

Q
"T
CID

¢l\ N-» D UCJIIGIIII

a‘fl!. . -. . -.-. . . .
\-‘uh

Fig. 1 The simplest visual presentation

of the arithmetical device of Petrovic’s computer (1898).

29. Ibid, Journal de Physique, Paris, 1897, 476 - 479.

30. A.W. Price, “ Petrovic Apparates for Integrating Differential Equations of the First Order ”,
Philosophical Magazine, 49 (1900), 487-490.
31. H. De Morih, Les appareils d ‘integration, Paris, 1913, 6, 194-197.
32. A.F. Willers, Mathematische Instrumente, Berlin, 1943, s III, 305.
33. E. Kamke, Diflerentialgleichungen Losungsmethoden und Losingen, Bd. 1, Leipzig, 1942,
642.
34. In his first paper concerning hydraulic computer (1897) Petrovic indicates that the vessel is
filled with mercury ; in all following papers he writes “ any liquid ”.
106 Aleksandar Petrovic

A liquid is pored into the vessel B. When submerging a solid body M in a

liquid, its level would change according to a certain law, depending on the shapes
of the vessel and the body, and, when they are determined, on changing x, i.e. the
distance between the holder of the body M and the bottom of the vessel.
Variable y is further defined as the distance between the bottom and the level of
the liquid, and z as z = x - y. If F(y) is the surface of the horizontal section of the
vessel B at level y, and F(z) the horizontal section of body M on the same level,
then, by infinite submerging of body M, the dimension x changes to x - dz, and y
into y + dy, so that the volume raised above the level y will be [F(y) - F(z)] dy.
This volume must be equal to the volume of the liquid displaced up by the
body M while being submerged by dz, i.e. F(z) dz, i.e. :
r [F0/)-F(Z)] dy = F(Z) dz
that is, because z = x - y,
F(1/)dy/ dx = F06-y)
This is the differential equation of the problem, and by its integration the rela-
tion between the variables x and y can be obtained.

--7--sq‘; -—--~-' ' "runs:-nuns:-1.... . . _:.*'jr‘]. 1"

C

/Ll? G /
1 , Fftn» 4-1% it

ll ,
ll it
ll ii
xl it

.4‘! I ll ‘J’ I l ‘ .

I E 3X ~ U= 325
hlfl
: §
:

‘L l

NH

w‘'*;t‘j ;f; .‘f;1ij

iii;
by
= Ia. .,__,
H
MI
;!" " [M
*= \.;._Et-Q0"‘
$5-nil _ '_ ,
...
1 » ""-bu--._-¢¢. 1*‘ -n Q I I *1:-u .... '1t 1-II
2
Z
i
':. 12; -Af—~—;A !-:;_n,.l4_;._:~ :___fi
v- L. -._ . -.. .r;. .-. . . ¢.§
+1-. -. .- ¢. - .~
ll ‘l 1 ' ‘I r ""
l‘ ‘F 9’ \ “ U l‘ I
H 1‘i *J’ l,:1 ‘X‘ ‘\ . l
‘ ‘LII0;lFQJ»IIlI‘<|l<III:IIi*I$}tII!\Illfilbtiitwl

,*' .... ......:::::::::::::!L..,;12L‘;":‘.‘ ' ......- -- ---

...
_ _ 7' _ _ '__’_’______7__'_ __,,¢___ __ — -———- — — —————uuuq| ' ._ _._

Fig. 2 Petrovic’s blueprint of a possible construction of the computer

(arithmetical device, input and output unit), which can be used in various Ways
— as integraph, integrator, pantograph, and so applied to all the problems deman-
ding exploration of integral curves. Submerging the body M (dx) follows the
curve drawn on cylinder D, while the law governing the changes of the liquid
level (dy) can be registered by a peripheral device, here a pen which draws on the
paper attached to cylinder E.
Petrovic based the construction of his Hydro Integrator on this fundamental
principle, introducing afterwards some sophisticated details : The input unit was
a dynamic body of a certain shape connected with a rotating cylinder on which
an additional input function 11 = f (ii) was graphically described. Petrovic further
abandoned use of the arm m at the input unit and introduced a clock mechanism
with permanent angular speed so that the data at the input cylinder entered the
arithmetical device at constant speed. The input and the output cylinders were
 Development of the first hydraulic analog computer l07

connected, so they both moved at the same speed. In this way he ensured a fully
automatic computing process, a unique innovation at the highest level of automa-
tion so far reached by contemporary computing machines. He added yet another
possibility : the liquid from the vessel could flow out continually through a hole
at the bottom of the vessel, and by that, the number of the input equations became
even larger.
The output unit consisted of one or more rotating cylinders (directly connec-
ted with the float in the arithmetical device) on which the output data — an inte-
gral curve of the set differential equation was “printed”. The first idea of a
printing cylinder Petrovic got from the lectures of professor Koenigs in Paris in
1892 and he drew sketches of a cylinder as the output computing unit in his note-
book.

. "1
R
-.
Q
op
.

for
is
-it 6 g

5 i’

t<- ~"a
~4-

.-. .--...-
.-
---

- ._.- -.<.~
-4 ~4 __-.-Q -.-
.¢,n-.---¢-.-- ------\'-~
,,_, __,,,,,,.,..¢.....»<-- .-~-
--.__-.-»-1- .--.....--P -I
--uu-- -u-.~.-.-.-¢

Fig. 3 Petrovic’s scheme of the advanced Hydro Integrator

displaying possibilities of a more complex input system (1899).
This Hydro Integrator was suitable for solving two classes of differential
equations. By changing the constructive elements on the apparatus, i.e. the shapes
of the vessel, and/or of the body which is submerged into the vessel, by uniting
one, two or more vessels, submerging bodies and integral cylinders, Petrovic con-
siderably extended the possibility of the hydraulic integration to a broader class
of differential equations. He obtained conditions for the integration of Riccati’s
equations, as well as some other types of differential equations. “The principle
of integrations, emphasized in this paper”, wrote Petrovic, “ can be achieved in
other very diverse ways as well, and the field for combinations of this kind is very
broad. Whole classes of differential equations of the first order, which can be
integrated, correspond to every manner of its realization and a whole family of
curves, which can be continually constructed ”35.
After the presentation of the Petrovic’s Hydro Integrator in 1900, various
types of Hydro Integrators were developed for solving differential equations.

35. Mihailo Petrovic, Elements ofMathematical Phenomenology, 760.

108 Aleksandar Petrovic

Among them, maybe the most important was the computer of V.S. Lukyanov,
developed in 1936, in the Institute for Mechanical Engineering in Moscow36.
This computer was used for solving Fourier’s partial differential equations, and
was founded on two phenomena : the flow of a liquid through capillary tubes, and
the moving of heat through a certain material. The level of water in its valves
stands for stored numbers, and the dynamic of flow between them symbolizes
mathematical operations. Even that type of analog computer was anticipated by
M. Petrovic, who mentioned, before 1900, the construction of an arithmetical
device based on a system of many interconnected vessels37, and discussed
capillar hydrodynamic phenomena as a possibility for materialization of analyti-
cal problems related to the curves’ integrals38.

III

Petrovic started to work theoretically on the development of his Hydro Inte-

grator after his return from Paris in 1894. He published his last paper on hydraulic
computers in 189939. The fact that he did not attempt to protect his invention,
although it had a higher inventive level than his inventions which were granted
French patents, implies that commercialization was not on his mind. The main
aim was the advancing of mathematics and University education. Only one sam-
ple of the computer was made, since for specified purposes it was not essential to
make more40. There are no reliable data of what happened to the computer, but it
seems feasible that it was destroyed in 1944, when the Nazi forces burnt the buil-
ding where the Mathematical Institute had its premises.

I
I

Ill!)
Q nun - ‘I

q -
_ . €¥I 1 I
1 ~v.~vIuzaa::=|»{|.L§
am. ‘I' l-

1;;
-—a_:;+—_*,: 4:r*_-:

J*'. . .t!r.*=.I=1.1.nar:£~.\'-i!7=":.“*~-i.£'_1, In
1‘.
F
'"" ‘“u~
" " “" u-Ia|u-n m-~w¢_-u - .p- ~»-_._D. . 1~
»...
0-.,H-"\J~‘--2:*J€:_;5-n_~91'_';&- ¢‘"=_= ‘7j{§‘A:1. r:m1-'iér'-“"=~
wag-'v1"i| '-E"- .“_‘I-';i—.3‘
=-T. -3* mmmmu
u nuqp_qn,
‘___
27-:4g_
.M
.,_~IQ-.-.-,_-...-cirn.‘,flw»_-=-1.,- I
"~

§" " "'w-um:-us,nun _ _ MQMI

__',~I l---v‘' 1.---"1
--.‘ .»l£a=:._. .

Fig. 4. Drawing of Petrovic’s Hydro Integrator

36. V.S. Lukyanov, “ Hydraulic Instruments for Technical Calculations ”, News, Academy of
Sciences of USSR, 2 (1939), Moscow, 53-67.
37. Mihailo Petrovic, On Hydraulic Integration.
38. Elements of Mathematical Phenomenology.
39. “Appareil a liquide pour l’intégration graphique de certains types d’équations différentielles”,
American Journal ofMathematics, 22 (1899), l, l-l2.
40. In 1980, a replica of the Hydro Integrator was made at Belgrade University.
 Development of the first hydraulic analog computer 109

displayed on the Universal Exhibition in Paris, 1900. The name of the French
engineer who actually made it still remains unknown. This is the only known
drawing from the A.W. Price’s article in the Philosophical Magazine.
Petrovic made a prototype which was not only a realization of his mathema-
tical system, but also a step forward for mathematics itself. It was not the appli-
cation of the computer that was put forward in the front line, but the
materialization itself, proof of the validity of his mathematical theory of analo-
gies. For him, the computer was “ an auxiliary means for materialization of ana-
lytical problems. Materialization here means the finding, for an analytical
problem, a concrete phenomenon subjected to the same relations and same laws
obtained by analytical solving of that problem ”. That device serves for
“ determining purely analytical, calculative facts, hidden, for instance, in differen-
tial equations of some analytical problem, which in some cases facilitates the
exact as well as approximative integration of these equations ”41. Such a compu-
ter did not fit into industrial, but into mathematical needs, and therefore it had no
influence on industry, especially because it was too advanced for the practical
needs of the time.
Probably one of the reasons for abandoning the work on the Hydro Integrator,
after only a few years work, was that Petrovic came to the idea of virtual compu-
ters. “ Instead of concrete phenomena, as they act in reality, it is possible to repre-
sent in mind materialization of fictional phenomena, with appropriately adjusted
assumptions conceming their mechanism. Phenomena may not correspond to rea-
lity, but they should be of such character that, if they happen according to such
assumptions, laws of phenomenon would be, on one hand, included in the given
analytical problem, and, on the other hand, certain special details of these laws
would be self-evident in that factual phenomenon ”42.
Because of that it would not be an exaggeration if we affirm that Mihailo
Petrovic in l897 opened new horizons in the development of scientific thinking
about analog computing. The mathematical and overall conceptual flexibility of
his Hydro Integrator was not achieved for a long time, until the appearance of
advanced electronic analog devices43. He deserves the credit for advancing the
principle of analog computer systems based on a specific physical model, as well
as for the specific use of the law of hydrodynamics in its practical realization.

41. Mihailo Petrovic, Phenomenology ofCorrespondence, 78.

42. Ibid, 77-'78.
43. The Hydro Integrator could be further conceived. Petrovic in Elements (p. 550) pointed that
“there are also some special analogies between thermodynamical phenomena and the flowing out of
water from a vessel. Homologous elements of such analogies are presented in the table :
Phenomenon I element II element III element
hydrodynamical height of the water mechanical energy quantity of the flowed
of falling water out water
thermodynamical temperature quantity of heat entropy”
This means that (l) it is possible to imagine a computer based on the principles of thermodynamics
and (2) Petrovic’s existing computer can be used for simple measuring of the entropy of a system.
l l0 Aleksandar Petrovic

Petrovic’s was the first hydraulic model that could be applied for solving various
classes of differential equations. This refers also to the technique of using hydrau-
lics and pneumatics in the construction of analog computers, which encompasses
a series of elements applied later in similar apparatuses (integral cylinder, elemen-
tary vessel, capillarity).
Above all, generally speaking Petrovic was the first who turned to the simu-
lation of differential functions. He made 3-D models for a variety of such func-
tions and implemented them as the shapes of the vessel and the submerging body
which were the parts of the arithmetical device of his computer. The interactive
usage of the shapes (vessel/submerging body) as the carrier of information was
his original contribution. In the construction of peripheral devices, he also made
some original contributions. First was the introduction of a cylinder with the gra-
phic of a certain function imprinted on it as a device for entering information
(besides the shapes of the bodies). By upgrading the input system with a clock
mechanism with a permanent angular speed he reached fully automatic calcula-
ting process (the input cylinder was connected with an output cylinder on which
the integral curve was drawn, and so they both moved at the same speed).
Apart from this, Petrovic’s computer with its elegance, simplicity and clarity
of applied principles still represents an outstanding utility for the visualizing and
better understanding of differential equations and hydrodynamics in the educatio-
nal process. It shared the destiny of Petrovic’s theory in general which, in spite
of its originality, consistency and applicability, did not receive a wider response,
because it originated from genuine philosophical synthesis demanding more than
a plain mathematical knowledge. Although his conception of mathematical ana-
logical supervision was never comprehended in the context of cybernetics, proba-
bly it is not mistaken to say that Petrovic’s work belongs more to the history of
great ideas than to the history of computer technics.