Svein Rosseland and the Oslo Analyzer

  • Authors:

  • Per A. Holst

  • Affiliations:

  • -

  • Venue:
  • IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
  • Year:
  • 1996

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Abstract

At one time the world's largest mechanical differential analyzer was located at Blindern, Norway at Oslo University's Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics. It was built by a Norwegian instrument firm, borrowing much of its details from the famous MIT design by Vannevar Bush. For a few years this mechanical analytical tool ranked as the world's foremost differential equation solver. The Oslo analyzer was technically advanced, highly accurate, and, surprisingly, it was the most accessible large computational resource available to theoretical physicists in the world. Its success was primarily due to Professor Svein Rosseland. He was a bright, young astrophysicist who had impressed his fellow physicists around the world with his talents and imaginative thoughts