| Abstract: | A machine for the purpose of facilitating mathematical solution of problems requiring the evaluation of an integral in which the integrand involves a variable parameter is described in this article. It involves the use of an optical system in which the transmission of light is limited in a definite manner by apertures having the shape of the area under curves representing mathematical functions. The accuracy of the machine itself is from 2 to 5 per cent. Examples of the use of the device in the solution of the superposition theorem integral and a form of integral equation are given. Its application to other problems including the Fourier transform, correlation analysis, and periodogram analysis is discussed, and its limitations are considered. |
