How a Calculator Calculates
How Calculators Work
There could have been a time when the most complex calculations people had to complete could be done with their fingers and toes. However, today it's nearly impossible for many people to imagine doing anything involving numbers -from math homework from tax forms to tipping servers at restaurants without the assistance of at the very least a pocket calculator. Actually, electronic calculators are now so commonplace that it's hard to believe that they didn't become commonplace until the late 20 th century.
Before the advent in the present-day calculator, people used some other instruments for computation. The abacus, for example, is a precursor to the calculator. Most likely originated from Babylonian origin Early abaci could be boards on which the location of counters indicated the numerical value. The abaci of today -- that some people still use today in China, Japan and the Middle East -- works by transferring beads across wires that are strung across a frame [source: Britannica: Abacus].
Through the course of the last century, some people performed calculations using motor-driven mechanical adding machines, while others utilized mathematical tables, and slide rule -- instruments with adjustable scales and graduated ones that, depending on what type you're using, will handle everything from trigonometry to multiplication The source is Britannica: Slide Rule[source: Britannica: Slide Rule].
In the 1960s, advancements in integrated circuitry resulted in the creation of electronic calculators but the initial versions of the gadgets -- designed by companies such as Sharp as well as Texas Instruments -- looked quite different from the ones you're carrying today in your backpack or briefcase.
For more information about the advancements of the electronic calculator -- and see how consumer demand in smaller computers led the invention of microchips which power the appliances we use each 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 might claim to be first in the invention of the electronic calculator. Japanese company Sharp is believed to have invented the first computer-based desktop calculator model, the CS-10A in 1964. This model resembled a cash register and cost about twice the cost of a mid-sized automobile (sources: Lewis, Sharp]. The year was 1967. Texas Instruments developed what is referred to as the first portable, handheld calculator (a device which could do addition as well as subtraction, multiplication, and division -- in a program that was dubbed by the company "Cal Tech" [sources: Courier Mail, Texas InstrumentsThe Courier Mail and Texas Instruments.
Utilizing "Cal Tech" technology, Canon created an initial handheld calculator intended for use in the commercial market, that debuted in the year 1970, sporting a price tag around $400. Source: Texas Instruments]. The subsequent years turned into an intense race between manufacturers to develop calculators that were smaller, more user-friendly and more affordable. It was in 1972 that British creator Sir Clive Sinclair introduced the Sinclair Executive, which is believed by many to be the world's most affordable pocket calculator [sources: The Press, Western Daily PressThe Press, Western Daily Press. Its thickness was comparable to a pack of cigarettes.
The constant advancements in calculator technology were largely created by the advent of the single chip microprocessor in the latter half of the 1960s. Prior to this, engineers built the computing "brains" of calculators (and computers) with multiple chips or other components. A single-chip microprocessor lets a complete central processing unit (CPU) to exist on one silicon microchip. (To find out more about this type of technology, visit the How Microprocessors operate.)
Intel Corp. created the first single-chip microprocessor commercially available called the Intel 4004 -- in 1971 (sources: Behar, Intel]. It was able of performing basic arithmetic, storing 4 bits of information at time. However, Intel's co-founder Gordon Moore, predicted that the capabilities of an individual chip would increase around 2 times per year. This theory is known as "Moore's Law," and until today, it holds true. Not only did calculators get smaller as time went by, they were also able of more sophisticated apps [source: Intel].
Nowadays, in addition to contemporary versions of the traditional pocket calculator advanced scientific and graphing calculators are in use 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, when Texas Instruments introduced its TI-92 model in 1995, they called it "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, which is an example of a system that is base-16)
- Utilizing scientific notation in order to calculate very large amounts
- Using logarithms and trigonometric functions directly
- Utilizing constants like pi and e to higher levels of precision
- Utilizing complex numbers, fractions and formulas
- Solving equations
- Analysis of statistics
- Utilizing larger displays to work out graphs and formulas
Go to in the following section, to learn information about the solar cell, circuit board, and the various other components of the calculator.
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