Calculator
How Calculators Work
There could have been times when the most complex calculations people needed to conduct could have been performed on their fingers and toes. Today it's nearly impossible for a lot of people to imagine performing any task that involves numbers- from math homework and tax return filings to tipping server at restaurants without at least a basic pocket calculator. In fact, electronic calculators are so ubiquitous that it's hard to believe they didn't become widespread until the latter half of the 20 century. century.
Before the invention in the present-day calculator the people were using different tools for computing. The abacus, for example, is a precursor to the calculator. It is likely to be originally of Babylonian origin The earliest abaci were believed to be boards on which the location of counters stood for the numerical value. But the present abacus -- which is still used by some throughout China, Japan and the Middle East -- works by moving beads along wires that are strung across a frame (source: Britannica: Abacus].
In the latter half of the century, some people conducted computations using motor-assisted adding machines. Other people used mathematical tables or slide rule -- devices with graduated, movable scales that, depending on what type you own, can be used for anything from multiplication to trigonometry The source is Britannica: Slide Rule[source: Britannica: Slide Rules].
Then, in the 1960s, advances in integrated circuitry led the development of electronic calculators, however the first versions of these calculators -- made by companies such as Sharp as well as Texas Instruments -- looked much different from the model you may be carrying around today in your backpack or briefcase.
To learn more about the evolution of today's electronic calculator -- and to see how the demand from consumers for smaller calculators led to the development of microchips that run appliances that 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
Several electronics companies and inventors might claim to be first in the creation of an electronic calculator. Japanese manufacturer Sharp is said to have invented the very original desktop calculator, the CS-10A in 1964. It resembled a cash register, and was about the same amount as a mid-sized car [sources: Lewis, Sharp]. In 1967, Texas Instruments developed what is referred to as the first handheld and portable calculator -- which is a gadget that could calculate addition or subtraction as well as multiplication, division -- in a program that was nicknamed by the company "Cal Tech" [sources: Courier Mail, Texas Instruments[sources: Courier Mail, Texas Instruments].
Utilizing "Cal Tech" technology, Canon developed one of the first portable calculator for commercial use, that debuted in the year 1970, sporting the price 400 dollars [source: Texas Instruments]. The following years were an ongoing race between makers to make calculators smaller, more user-friendly and more affordable. It was in 1972 that British creator Sir Clive Sinclair introduced the Sinclair Executive, which is thought by many to be the world's first pocket calculator (sources: The Press, Western Daily Pressand Western Daily Press. Its size was comparable to a pack of cigarettes.
These continued advancements within calculator technology were largely due to the development of the single-chip microprocessor in the 1960s. Before that, engineers built the computing "brains" of calculators (and computers) with multiple chips or other components. In essence, a single-chip processor lets a complete central processing unit (CPU) to be housed on a single silicon microchip. (To find out more about this technology, check out the How Microprocessors Function.)
Intel Corp. created the first microprocessor with a single chip that was available commercially -- The Intel 4004 -- in 1971 (sources: Behar, Intel]. It was able to perform basic arithmetic, 4 bits of information at time. However, Intel's co-founder, Gordon Moore, predicted that the capabilities of the chip would be doubled approximately every two years. This theory is referred to as "Moore's Law," and until today, it holds for the moment. The calculators not only became smaller over the years, they became capable of increasingly sophisticated software *Source: Intel].
Nowadays, in addition to newer versions of the standard pocket calculator advanced graphing and scientific calculators are readily available and are used by professionals and students like engineers. They are often based on well-known computer language and can be programmed according to the requirements of the user. In fact when Texas Instruments introduced its TI-92 model in 1995 they called the model "a calculator with the power of a computer lab" [source: Texas Instruments]. Many scientific and graphing calculators are capable of specific functions like:
- Switching from the usual base-ten to other systems of number (hexadecimal counting, is one of the bases-16 systems)
- Using scientific notation to calculate very large amounts
- By using logarithms and trigonometric functions directly
- Working with constants like pi and e with 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 create formulas and graph equations
Go to our next chapter to find out what you need to know about solar cells and circuit boards, and the various other components that comprise a calculator.
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