<P> The machine was about a century ahead of its time . All the parts for his machine had to be made by hand--this was a major problem for a device with thousands of parts . Eventually, the project was dissolved with the decision of the British Government to cease funding . Babbage's failure to complete the analytical engine can be chiefly attributed to difficulties not only of politics and financing, but also to his desire to develop an increasingly sophisticated computer and to move ahead faster than anyone else could follow . Nevertheless, his son, Henry Babbage, completed a simplified version of the analytical engine's computing unit (the mill) in 1888 . He gave a successful demonstration of its use in computing tables in 1906 . </P> <P> During the first half of the 20th century, many scientific computing needs were met by increasingly sophisticated analog computers, which used a direct mechanical or electrical model of the problem as a basis for computation . However, these were not programmable and generally lacked the versatility and accuracy of modern digital computers . The first modern analog computer was a tide - predicting machine, invented by Sir William Thomson in 1872 . The differential analyser, a mechanical analog computer designed to solve differential equations by integration using wheel - and - disc mechanisms, was conceptualized in 1876 by James Thomson, the brother of the more famous Lord Kelvin . </P> <P> The art of mechanical analog computing reached its zenith with the differential analyzer, built by H.L. Hazen and Vannevar Bush at MIT starting in 1927 . This built on the mechanical integrators of James Thomson and the torque amplifiers invented by H.W. Nieman . A dozen of these devices were built before their obsolescence became obvious . By the 1950s the success of digital electronic computers had spelled the end for most analog computing machines, but analog computers remained in use during the 1950s in some specialized applications such as education (control systems) and aircraft (slide rule). </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Digital computer . (Discuss) (May 2017) </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Explain the role of computer in operation research