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The MONIAC (Monetary National Income Automatic Computer) also known as the Phillips Hydraulic Computer and the Financephalograph, was created in 1949 by the New Zealander economist Bill Phillips to model the national economic processes of the United Kingdom, while Phillips was a student at the London School of Economics (LSE), The MONIAC was an analogue computer which used hydraulics to model the workings of an economy. The MONIAC name may have been suggested by an association of money and ENIAC, an early electronic digital computer. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (553x737, 70 KB)MONIAC Computer. ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (553x737, 70 KB)MONIAC Computer. ...
Alban William Phillips (1914 – March, 1975) was an influential economist in the middle of the twentieth century. ...
The London School of Economics and Political Science, often referred to as the London School of Economics or simply the LSE, is a specialist constituent college of the University of London. ...
An analog computer (American English) or analogue computer (British English) is a form of computer using electronic or mechanical phenomena to model the problem being solved by using one kind of physical quantity to represent another. ...
Table of Hydraulics and Hydrostatics, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ...
ENIAC ENIAC, short for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer,[1] was the first large-scale, electronic, digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems,[2] although earlier computers had been built with some of these properties. ...
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Description The MONIAC was approximately 2 m high, 1.2 m wide and almost 1 m deep, and consisted of a series of transparent plastic tanks and pipes which were fastened to a wooden board. Each tank represented some aspect of the UK national economy and the flow of money around the economy was illustrated by coloured water. At the top of the board was a large tank called the treasury. Water (representing money) flowed from the treasury to other tanks representing the various ways in which a country could spend its money. For example, there were tanks for health and education. To increase spending on health care a tap could be opened to drain water from the treasury to the tank which represented health spending. Water then ran further down the model to other tanks, representing other interactions in the economy. Water could be pumped back to the treasury from some of the tanks to represent taxation. Changes in tax rates were modeled by increasing or decreasing pumping speeds. The metre, or meter (U.S.), is a measure of length. ...
Savings reduce the funds available to consumers and investment income increases those funds. The MONIAC showed this by draining water (savings) from the expenditure stream and by injecting water (investment income) into that stream. When the savings flow exceeds the investment flow, the level of water in the savings and investment tank (the surplus-balances tank) would rise to reflect the accumulated balance. When the investment flow exceeds the savings flow for any length of time, the surplus-balances tank would run dry. Import and export were represented by water draining from the model, and by additional water being poured into the model. In common usage, saving generally means putting money aside, for example, by putting money in the bank or investing in a pension plan. ...
Invest redirects here. ...
The actual flow of the water was automatically controlled through a series of floats, counterweights, electrodes and cords. When the level of water reached a certain level in a tank, pumps and drains would be activated. To their surprise, Phillips and his associate Walter Newlyn found that MONIAC could be calibrated to an accuracy of ±2 %.
The flow of water between the tanks was determined by economic principles and the settings for various parameters. Different economic parameters, such as tax rates and investment rates, could be entered by setting the valves which controlled the flow of water about the computer. Users could experiment with different settings and note the effect on the model. The MONIAC’s ability to model the subtle interaction of a number of variables made it a powerful tool for its time. When a set of parameters resulted in a viable economy the model would stabilise and the results could be read from scales. The output from the computer could also be sent to a rudimentary plotter. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
MONIAC had been designed to be used as a teaching aid but was discovered also to be an effective economic simulator. At the time that MONIAC was created, electronic digital computers that could run complex economic simulations were unavailable. In 1949 the few computers in existence were restricted to government and military use. Neither did they have adequate visual display facilities, so were unable to illustrate the operation of complex models. Observing the MONIAC in operation made it much easier for students to understand the interrelated processes of a national economy. The range of organisations that acquired a MONIAC showed that it was used in both capacities.
Phillips scrounged a variety of materials to create his prototype computer, including bits and pieces from war surplus such as parts from old Lancaster bombers. The first MONIAC was created in his landlady’s garage in Croydon at a cost of 400 GBP. The Avro Lancaster was a four-engined World War II bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force. ...
Croydon is a large town and major commercial centre in southern England, and is also an area of Greater London, being the main settlement in the London Borough of Croydon. ...
ISO 4217 Code GBP User(s) United Kingdom, the British Indian Ocean Territory[1] Inflation 2. ...
Phillips first demonstrated the MONIAC to a number of leading economists at the LSE in 1949. It was very well received and Phillips was soon offered a teaching position at the LSE.
Current Locations It is thought that twelve to fourteen machines were built. The prototype was given to Leeds University, and copies went to three other British universities. Other computers went to Melbourne University, Harvard Business School and the Roosevelt College in the United States. The Ford Motor Company and the Central Bank of Guatemala also bought MONIACs. University Tower, University of Leeds The University of Leeds (United Kingdom) is amongst the largest of British universities and the most popular by applicants, with 52,444 applicants in 2003 for 7,228 places (UCAS). ...
The University of Melbourne, located in Melbourne, in Victoria, is the second oldest university in Australia (the University of Sydney is the oldest). ...
Harvard Business School, officially named the Harvard Business School: George F. Baker Foundation, and also known as HBS, is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. ...
Roosevelt University downtown campus (Auditorium Building) Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a four-year, private institute of higher education with full service campuses in Chicagos Loop and northwest suburban Schaumburg. ...
Ford Motor Company, (Fomoco on mechanical parts), is an American multinational corporation and the worlds third largest automaker based on vehicle sales in 2005. ...
A MONIAC owned by Istanbul University is located in the Faculty Of Economics and can be inspected by interested parties. Istanbul University Istanbul University (Turkish: İstanbul Üniversitesi ) was founded as an institution of higher education named the Darülfünun (House of Multiple Sciences) on July 23, 1846; but the Medrese (Theological School) which was founded immediately after Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453 is regarded as the precursor...
A MONIAC owned by the LSE was donated to the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research in Wellington, New Zealand. This machine formed part of the New Zealand Exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2003. The MONIAC was set to model the New Zealand economy. Alternative meanings at Wellington (disambiguation) A view of Wellington from the top of Mount Victoria. ...
Detail of exhibition. ...
A second machine from the LSE was given to the Science Museum in London and, after renovation, was placed on display in the museum’s computing galleries. The Science Museum on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. ...
A working MONIAC (or Philip's Machine as it is known in the UK) can be found at the Faculty of Economics and Politics at the Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. This machine was restored by Allan McRobie from the Cambridge University Engineering Department, who holds an annual demonstration to students. The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ...
It has also been reported that the MONIAC used by the Central Bank of Guatemala is being restored for a 2005-6 exhibition entitled Tropical Economies, at the Wattis Institute in San Francisco. The Wattis Institute is part of the California College of the Arts. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...
Founded in 1907, California College of the Arts (formerly California College of Arts and Crafts) is a regionally accredited, independent school of art and design in Oakland and San Francisco, California, USA. Its one of the leading art and design schools in the country. ...
The MONIAC at Melbourne University, Australia is on permanent display in the faculty of Commerce's Main Building. An invitation is extended to anyone interested in restoring the MONIAC to functional capacity.
See also An analog computer (American English) or analogue computer (British English) is a form of computer using electronic or mechanical phenomena to model the problem being solved by using one kind of physical quantity to represent another. ...
Phillips curve The Phillips curve is a historical inverse relation and tradeoff between the rate of unemployment and the rate of inflation in an economy. ...
References - Mike Hally, Electronic Brains: Stories from the Dawn of the Computer Age, Joseph Henry Press, 2005, ISBN 0-309-09630-8, p. 187–205
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