Comparator Hypotheses (continued)

While this is our best guess so far, there are some things that just don't fit, or, at least, that we just don't understand.

• The machine is labeled "comparator." If the machine is a comparator, what does it compare? We researched other devices with this name, for example, optical comparators, and they're very different.
• The output seems to be on top, but there are no calibrations on the top scales. You can zero out a scale by sliding it, but what you read out is just coarse divisions.
• Although the machine is very precise in its construction, the scales do not seem to be designed for precise entry. If there were a vernier scale on each of the "input" dials, it would be easy to enter a value to 1/10th of a division. The lack of fine divisions or a vernier scale suggests that precision wasn't terribly important. So why build a big, heavy device? A more-practical approach to the engineering problem would be to use a (custom) slide rule instead.