1949 – Moniac: A Hydromechanical Machine to Teach Economics

The MONIAC or Phillips machine is a hydromechanical analog computer built to teach basic economical principles using colored water flowing in transparent pipes. The machine was built in 1951 after electrical-engineer-turned-economist William Phillips and his economist colleague Walter Newlyn realized that flows were used as a metaphor to teach economics, but have never been made physical. Phillips is also known for his eponymous curves. Several MONIACs were built, and a working one is […]

The MONIAC or Phillips machine is a hydromechanical analog computer built to teach basic economical principles using colored water flowing in transparent pipes. The machine was built in 1951 after electrical-engineer-turned-economist William Phillips and his economist colleague Walter Newlyn realized that flows were used as a metaphor to teach economics, but have never been made physical. Phillips is also known for his eponymous curves. Several MONIACs were built, and a working one is permanently displayed at the Economics Department of Cambridge University. Sources: Bissell (2007) The Moniac: A Hydromechanical Analog Computer of the 1950s. The museum of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand also has a working MONIAC and a Youtube video explaining it. Image from fulltable.com. Morgan & Boumans (1998) The Secrets Hidden by Two-Dimensionality: Modelling the Economy as a Hydraulic System. The original article by the creator of the machine: Philips (1950) Mechanical Models in Economic Dynamics.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Physical model Tags: economics, education, flows, hydraulic, liquid, physical computation, simulation, water

2014 – Drip-By-Tweet: Each Vote is a Drop

Team of developers Domestic Data Streamers created a real-time physical visualization of votes for a graphic design contest. A person can vote for a specific piece by sending a tweet, after which the machine releases a drop of yellow liquid and sends it to the corresponding test tube. Source: Domestic Data Streamers.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic. Category: Active physical visualization Tags: liquid, participatory, streaming, tweets, votes

2016 – Wait for the Oil Drop!

In this museum installation, four tons of (possibly fake) oil dramatically drop into a three-meter-tall glass tube in four seconds, showcasing the vast quantities of oil Kuwait produces. The liquid is pumped back up and dropped again every five minutes. The inscription on the tube reads: Wait for the oil drop! Every second of every day, Kuwait produces this much oil. This installation is part of the Ahmed Al Jaber Oil & Gas Exhibition, a permanent exhibition located in Al Ahmadi, Kuwait, […]

In this museum installation, four tons of (possibly fake) oil dramatically drop into a three-meter-tall glass tube in four seconds, showcasing the vast quantities of oil Kuwait produces. The liquid is pumped back up and dropped again every five minutes. The inscription on the tube reads: Wait for the oil drop! Every second of every day, Kuwait produces this much oil. This installation is part of the Ahmed Al Jaber Oil & Gas Exhibition, a permanent exhibition located in Al Ahmadi, Kuwait, and created in 2016 by the London-based design company Event Communications. The design and construction of this specific device was outsourced to InteractUn Limited, a London company led by the mechanical engineer Simon Pugh. The right video shows an early prototype. Sources: Website of the Ahmed Al Jaber Oil & Gas Exhibition. The oil drop installation can be seen by clicking on the second-to-last thumbnail in their 360 virtual tour (archived version). Website of InteractUn Limited. They have a web page explaining the design of their device (archived version). Website of Event Communications. A short description of their involvement in the exhibition can be found in their past projects page (archived version) – scroll down to the Archive section then year 2016. They also uploaded a 4-minute Vimeo video showing the full exhibition; oil drop installation shown at 4:05. Website of DPM. The company that oversaw the project. A short description of their involvement in the exhibition can be found here (archived version) Various Internet posts on the topic (but often without sources or attribution): A 2019 Linkedin post, a 2022 Reddit post, and a 2024 Reddit post. Video on the left: downloaded from the 2024 Reddit post. Original source unknown. Photo in the middle: still from Event Communication’s video. Video on the right: posted on YouTube by Simon Pugh (InteractUn Limited) in 2019. Related: Also see our other posts on single-datum physical visualizations.

Added by: Pierre Dragicevic, sent by: Arnaud Prouzeau. Category: Passive physical visualization Tags: single-datum, oil, flow, liquid, museum