<p><strong>Short answer</strong>: yes, there are many &quot;computers&quot; which run without &quot;electricity&quot; (in the way most computers do nowadays). Read about  <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_computer" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Mechanical Computers</a>, and more generally about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computing_hardware" rel="nofollow noreferrer">history of computing hardware</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Longer answer</strong>: At the most basic level,</p>
<ul>
<li>an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abacus" rel="nofollow noreferrer">abacus</a> is a funcional computer which allows to compute, which is a useful task;</li>
<li>the term computer was actually originally used to refer to <a href="https://www.history.com/news/human-computers-women-at-nasa" rel="nofollow noreferrer">computing women at NASA</a> (who do use electricity in their brain and nervous system, I bet you are not counting that as electricity);</li>
</ul>
<p>This <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03623-y" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2021 article from Nature</a> references more example:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mechanical mechanisms have been used to process information for
millennia, with famous examples ranging from the Antikythera mechanism
of the Ancient Greeks to the analytical machines of Charles Babbage.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Hope it helps!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-31T14:27:06.647Z
2022-12-31T14:27:06.647Z
J.y B.y
<p>If electricity was never discovered, could we still make funcional computers to perform some level of useful tasks?</p>
<p>Or won't we be able to build anything comparable in terms of computer power?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-03T11:06:02.887Z
Apropos: [Mechanical circuits: electronics without electricity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrkiJZKJfpY) on YouTube.
Martin Berger
<arithmetic-circuits><circuits>
Can we do computing without electricity?
Joe DiNottra
# Can we do computing without electricity?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-12-30)

If electricity was never discovered, could we still make funcional computers to perform some level of useful tasks?

Or won't we be able to build anything comparable in terms of computer power?

**Tags:** arithmetic-circuits, circuits

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Apropos: [Mechanical circuits: electronics without electricity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrkiJZKJfpY) on YouTube.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-12-31. Score: 3

**Short answer**: yes, there are many "computers" which run without "electricity" (in the way most computers do nowadays). Read about [Mechanical Computers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_computer), and more generally about the [history of computing hardware](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computing_hardware).

**Longer answer**: At the most basic level,

* an [abacus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abacus) is a funcional computer which allows to compute, which is a useful task;
* the term computer was actually originally used to refer to [computing women at NASA](https://www.history.com/news/human-computers-women-at-nasa) (who do use electricity in their brain and nervous system, I bet you are not counting that as electricity);

This [2021 article from Nature](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03623-y) references more example:

> Mechanical mechanisms have been used to process information for
> millennia, with famous examples ranging from the Antikythera mechanism
> of the Ancient Greeks to the analytical machines of Charles Babbage.

Hope it helps!


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