You can't find anything better than chat-gpt fiction?
I don't know about Harwell Dekatron (WITCH) internals. And google don't help to reveal how it was build under the hood. So, I asked chat-gpt as big knowledge data base.
If it provided wrong answer, then explain what is wrong?
The Dekatron is a state machine with 10 discrete states, associated with the digits 0 to 9.
It is not a binary-coded decimal device.
You can encode any type of state machine with digital circuit which works with binary signals.
You can store decimal values in a plain binary form, in BCD form, as temperature code, or whatever you want.
You can even implement unstable state and noise with digital circuit.
It all will be digital circuit which use binary signals.
But we're talking about not digital circuit which uses non-binary signals.
For example if signal can get 3 discrete values, you can implement it in different way:
- emulate on digital circuit with using two binary signals to represent one ternary signal
- use analog circuit which works directly with analog signal that represent one ternary signal
Both methos works, but first method uses digital circuit with binary signals and second method uses analog circuit with analog signals.
The same you can emulate digital signal with analog one and emulate analog signal with digital one.
The things you're talking about is just a choice of used encoding.
You cannot determine category of circuit by meaning of variable in the program that running on that circuit.
If you categorize circuit as digital just because it works with numbers, you will realize soon that such categorization is broken, because you can process number on both domains. Numbers can be processed on digital domain and on analog domain.
For example, you can implement analog calcualtor which will perform sum calculation for numbers, but such analog calculator cannot be categorized as digital supposedly because it works with numbers or because it can display numbers in decimal or hexadecimal format.
In order to categorize circuit as Analog or Digital, you're needs to see on signals type used by that circuit. If it uses binary signals you can categorize it as digital. If it uses non binary signals, then this is analog circuit.
After discussions of ancient arithmetic, there are chapters about mechanical computation devices and later electro-mechanical devices, and even later electrical devices, many of which worked in base 10, or sometimes in other bases needed for computations in situations such as the old English monetary system of pounds, shillings, and pence.
The meaning of data processed by circuit doesn't matters for Analog/Digital circuit category. The data can be binary numbers, octal numbers, decimal numbers, hexadecimal numbers, alphabet letters, hieroglyphs, or other kind of symbols or color or whatever you want, it doesn't matter for Analog/Digital category, both category can process all these things.
The device which works with numbers in base 10 can be implemented with digital circuit using binary signals.
And the same, the device which works with numbers in base 10 can be implemented with analog circuit.
The information that device works with numbers in base 10 saying nothing about Analog/Digital category of circuit which is used in this device. It can be analog or digital. The same thing for numbers with base 2, base 8, base 16, base 100500 or whatever you want base...
This is just information processed by device and you cannot make conclusion how this information is processed inside device from type of that information...
For example, you can emulate analog signals on PC and it will works with analog signals. But it doesn't means that PC is analog circuit...