Calculator
How Calculators Work
There was probably times when the most complicated calculations people required to perform could have been done with their fingers and toes. Today it's virtually impossible for most people to imagine working on anything that involves numberssuch as math homework to tax returns to tipping servers in restaurants without the assistance of at least a basic pocket calculator. Indeed, electronic calculators are so widespread now that it's hard to believe they didn't become ubiquitous until the last decade of the 20 century. century.
Before the invention of the modern calculator the people were using other tools for computation. The abacus, for example, is one ancestor of the calculator. Most likely of Babylonian origin, early abaci were believed to have been boards that had the position of counters stood for numerical values. However, the current abacus -- which many people still use within China, Japan and the Middle East -- works by moving beads through wires that are strung on frames Source: Britannica: Abacus].
Through much of the past century, some people conducted calculations using motor-assisted mechanical adding machines. Others used mathematical tables and slides -- instruments with graduated, movable scales that depend on the type you've got, can perform all kinds of trigonometry, from multiplication to [source: Britannica: Slide Rule[source: Britannica: Slide Rules].
Then, in the 1960s, advancements in integrated circuitry led directly to the creation of electronic calculators, but the initial versions of the gadgets -- designed by companies such as Sharp as well as Texas Instruments -- looked much different from the model you're carrying today in your briefcase or backpack.
To know more about the evolution of today's electronic calculator and learn the way that consumer demand on smaller, more compact calculators led the creation of microchips to power the devices we use every throughout the day -- keep reading.
Advertisementhttps://fbe7c359baef375ed91a4619ee1bc775.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.htmlContents
- Evolution of the Electronic Calculator
- Calculator Components
- How a Calculator Calculates
- Impact of Calculator Technology
Evolution of the Electronic Calculator
Graphing calculators have many advanced functions, including solving and graphing equations.(c) ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/MBBIRDY
Many electronic companies as well as inventors may claim to have a first in the creation of an electronic calculator. Japanese Sharp, a company from Japan Sharp is believed to have developed the original computer-based desktop calculator called the CS-10A in 1964. It was similar to a cash register and was priced equal to a mid-sized car [sources: Lewis, Sharp]. As of 1967, Texas Instruments developed what is known as the first handheld, portable calculator which was gadget which could do addition to, subtraction, multiplication and division as part of a project the company dubbed "Cal Tech" [sources: Courier Mail, Texas Instruments[sources: Courier Mail, Texas Instruments].
Utilizing "Cal Tech" technology, Canon developed its first hand-held calculator to be used in commercial settings, which debuted in 1970 with the cost 400 dollars [source: Texas Instruments]. The next decade was an up-and-down battle between companies to design calculators that were smaller, more affordable and more affordable. The year 1972 was when British engineer Sir Clive Sinclair introduced the Sinclair Executive, which is thought by many to be the world's most affordable pocket calculator [sources: The Press, Western Daily PressThe Press, Western Daily Press. Its thickness was the same as cigarettes in a pack.
The constant advancements within calculator technology were result of the development of the single-chip microprocessor in the 1960s. Before this time engineers had built the computing "brains" of calculators (and computers) with multiple chips or other components. In essence, a single-chip processor can allow a full central processing unit (CPU) to be housed on a single silicon microchip. (To learn more about this technology, check out How Microprocessors operate.)
Intel Corp. created the first single-chip microprocessor commercially available called known as the Intel 4004 -- in 1971 [sources: Behar, Intel]. It was capable of performing basic arithmetic, storing 4 bits of information at once. However, Intel's cofounder, Gordon Moore, predicted that the capacity of a single chip would double approximately twice every 2 years. The theory is called "Moore's Law," and until today, it holds for the moment. The calculators not only became smaller as time went by, they became more capable of sophisticated apps (source: Intel].
Today, as well as modern versions of the classic pocket calculator, complex graphing and scientific calculators are readily available and are used by both students and professionals such as engineers. Many use well-known computer languages and can be programmed in accordance with the specifications of the user. In fact, when Texas Instruments introduced its TI-92 model in 1995, they called"TI-92 "a calculator with the power of a computer lab" [source: Texas Instruments]. Many scientific and graphing calculators can perform several of these things:
- The switch from the standard base-ten to other number systems (hexadecimal counting, is a base-16 system)
- Utilizing scientific notation in order to calculate very large amounts
- By using trigonometric functions and logarithms directly
- Utilizing constants like pi and e, you can achieve an even higher level of precision
- Using complex numbers such as fractions, formulas, and fractions
- Solving equations
- Statistic analysis
- Making use of larger displays to calculate graphs and formulas
Go to in the following section, to learn more about solar cells, circuit boards, as well as other components that comprise a calculator.
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