How a Calculator Calculates
How Calculators Work
There could have been a time when the most complicated calculations one had to complete could be completed with the help of their fingers and toes. Today, it's all but impossible for many to imagine performing any type of calculation involving numbers- from math homework and tax return filings to tipping server in restaurants -- without the aid of at the very least a pocket calculator. Indeed, electronic calculators are used so widely that it's difficult to believe they didn't become ubiquitous until the last decade of the 20 century. century.
Before the invention in the present-day calculator prior to the invention of the modern calculator, there were other tools to compute. The abacus, for example, is one ancestor of the calculator. Probably originally of Babylonian origin early abaci can be believed to be boards, where the positions of counters reflected numerals. The abaci of today -- that is still used by some within China, Japan and the Middle East -- works by moving beads on wires that are strung across frames (source: Britannica: Abacus].
Throughout much of the last century, some people performed calculations using motor-driven mechanical adding machines, while others utilized mathematical tables, and slide rule -- devices with adjustable, graduated scales which are, based on the kind you've got, can perform everything from multiplication to trigonometry *Source: Britannica: Slide Rule[source: Britannica: Slide Rule].
In the 1960s, advances in integrated circuitry led to invention of electronic calculators however, the early versions the devices -- developed by companies like Sharp as well as Texas Instruments -- looked far from the type you're carrying today in your backpack or briefcase.
To learn more about the advancements of the electronic calculator -- and to see how the demand from consumers for smaller calculators led the development of microchips that run the appliances we use every everyday, 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 electronics companies and inventors could claim a first when it comes to the development of the electronic calculator. Japanese manufacturer Sharp is believed to have developed the first desktop calculator model, the CS-10A in 1964. This model resembled a money register and cost around half the price of a mid-sized vehicle [sources: Lewis, Sharp]. As of 1967, Texas Instruments developed what is called the first portable, handheld calculator -- which is a gadget that could calculate addition or subtraction as well as multiplication, division in a development that was named by the company "Cal Tech" [sources: Courier Mail, Texas Instruments].
Using "Cal Tech" technology, Canon created one of the first portable calculator for commercial use, which debuted in 1970 with an estimated price 400 dollars [source: Texas Instruments]. The following few years would be an intense race between manufacturers to develop calculators that were smaller, simpler to access and less costly. The year 1972 was when British designer Sir Clive Sinclair introduced the Sinclair Executive, which is often regarded by some as the world's first affordable pocket calculator (sources: The Press, Western Daily Pressand Western Daily Press. Its thickness was comparable to a pack of cigarettes.
The constant advancements regarding calculator technology were enabled by the invention of the single-chip microprocessor in the 1960s. Before that engineers constructed the computing "brains" of calculators (and computers) that comprised multiple chips or other components. Basically, a single-chip microprocessor can allow a full central processing unit (CPU) to be located on a single silicon microchip. (To learn more about this technology, refer to the article How Microprocessors Work.)
Intel Corp. created the first single-chip microprocessor that was commercially available called The Intel 4004 -- in 1971 [sources: Behar, Intel]. It was able of performing basic arithmetic and 4 bits of information at time. But Intel's co-founder, Gordon Moore, predicted that the capabilities of the chip would be doubled around every two years. This theory is referred to as "Moore's Law," and so far it still holds the truth. Not only did calculators become smaller as they grew older, they became more capable of advanced software (source: Intel].
Nowadays, in addition to modern versions of the basic pocket calculator sophisticated scientific and graphing calculators are used by both students and professionals like engineers. Many are built using well-known computer programming languages and can be programmed according to the specifications of the user. In fact the time that Texas Instruments introduced its TI-92 model in 1995, it was described as it "a calculator with the power of a computer lab" [source: Texas Instruments]. Numerous graphing and scientific calculators are capable of certain of these tasks:
- The switch from the standard base-ten to other number systems (hexadecimal counting, is the base-16 method)
- Utilizing scientific notation to calculate extremely large numbers
- By using trigonometric functions and logarithms directly
- The use of constants like pi and e to greater levels of precision
- Utilizing complicated numbers including fractions, formulas and equations
- Solving equations
- Examining statistics
- Making use of larger displays to work out graphs and formulas
Check out our next chapter to learn information about the solar cell, circuit board and the various other elements that comprise the calculator.
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