The Water Computer of Vladimir Lukyanov

Early computers used gears and levers to operate. These elements or components could be manipulated precisely and linked to other components that resembled mathematical equations. These variables could be changed by moving a gear or pushing a lever, and the effects were seen in another set of gears, whose new locations give the operator the answer they sought.

In 1936, Russian engineer Vladimir Lukyanov utilized water, not gears and levers, to calculate. How did he develop such a thing? First, let’s get into his past. Lukyanov worked on the Troitsk-Orsk and Kartaly-Magnitnaya railroads in the late 1920s. Engineers only poured concrete throughout the summer to ensure the quality and longevity of their projects. Despite this, fissures emerged in the concrete when winter temperatures fell below zero. According to Lukyanov, this may be prevented by carefully monitoring temperature fluctuations in the concrete mass, depending on the concrete’s composition, the cement used, the work’s technology, and the weather. It took Lukyanov years to figure out how to solve the complex differential equations that defined the temperature regime in concrete masonry.

Lukyanov noticed that the rules of water flow are pretty similar to those of heat distribution. Lukyanov reasoned that by creating a computer based on water, he could see the unseen thermal process. It was Lukyanov’s “water integrator” that he invented in 1936. It was the only computer capable of solving PDEs.

Lukyanov’s water integrator was outstanding. It was roughly the size of a closet and was made out of pipes and pumps. To illustrate mathematical procedures, the water levels in separate compartments were compared. The result was elegantly graphed.

Early water integrators were rudimentary, constructed of roofing iron, sheet metal, and glass tubes, and solely utilized for heat engineering calculations. Newer models may address more complex issues, significantly expanding their usefulness. In the 1950s, an integrator was constructed in which pieces could be removed and rearranged to suit the task at hand. The water integrator was so widely used that it was mass-manufactured in Soviet labs and educational institutions. They were used to tackle problems in Central Asia’s sands and permafrost, as well as to conduct studies on the Antarctic ice sheet’s temperature regime.

Despite the advent of electronic computers, Lukyanov’s water integrator lasted a long time. Water integrator skills were only old-fashioned in the 1980s with the advent of smaller, faster digital computers. Only two Lukyanov water integrators remain now, both at Moscow’s Polytechnic Museum.