As you might expect from its name, the "Difference Engine" is a strangely difficult object to describe. You might start by imagining the side of a large crib with uprights ringed by small metal wheels ...

In the mid-1800s, Charles Babbage got fed up with doing complex calculations by hand, so he designed what he called a "Difference Engine." He... A 19th-Century Mathematician Finally Proves Himself ...

This painting shows a variety of objects associated with the history of computing, including an abacus, a portion of Babbage's difference engine, a punch card, electronic circuitry, a magnetic tape ...