Scientific Calculator

How Calculators Work

There was an era when the most complex calculations people required to perform could have been done with their fingers and toes. However, nowadays it's nearly impossible for a lot of people to imagine performing any task that involves numberssuch as math homework and tax return filings to tipping server at restaurants -- without at the very least a pocket calculator. Electronic calculators are now so commonplace that it's difficult to believe that they weren't widespread until the latter half of the 20 century. century.

Before the advent of the current calculator the people were using other instruments for computation. The abaci is an example. It is one of the ancestors of the calculator. It is likely to be from Babylonian origin Early abaci were believed to be boards where the positions of counters was used to represent numbers. But the contemporary abacus -- that is still used by some throughout China, Japan and the Middle East -- works by moving beads on wires which are strung around frames (source: Britannica: Abacus].

Through the course of the last century, people carried out calculations with motor-assisted mechanical addition machines, while others utilized mathematical tables as well as slides devices that have graduated, movable scales that depend on the type you own, can be used for anything from trigonometry to multiplication (source: Britannica: Slide Rule[source: Britannica: Slide Rule].

In the 1960s, advances in integrated circuitry led to creation of electronic calculators, however, the first versions of the devices -- developed by companies like Sharp as well as Texas Instruments -- looked quite different from the ones you carry around today in your backpack or briefcase.

To find out more about the development of the electronic calculator -- and to see the way that consumer demand of smaller-sized calculators lead to development of microchips that run appliances that we use every day , read on.

Advertisementhttps://fbe7c359baef375ed91a4619ee1bc775.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.htmlContents

  1. Evolution of the Electronic Calculator
  2. Calculator Components
  3. How a Calculator Calculates
  4. Impact of Calculator Technology

Evolution of the Electronic Calculator

Image alt="Graphing calculators can perform a variety of advanced functions, such as graphing and solving equations." src="https://media.hswstatic.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250ZW50Lmhzd3N0YXRpYy5jb20iLCJrZXkiOiJnaWZcL2NhbGN1bGF0b3ItMi5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjIwMH19fQ=="/>

Graphing calculators have many advanced functions, including solving and graphing equations.(c) ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/MBBIRDY

A variety of electronics firms and inventors could claim a first in the creation of an electronic calculator. Japanese firm Sharp is believed to have invented the initial computer-based desktop calculator known as the CS-10A, in 1964. The model was akin to a cash register and was priced the same amount as a mid-sized car (sources: Lewis, Sharp]. The year was 1967. Texas Instruments developed what is referred to as the first handheld, portable calculator that was a gadget capable of performing addition multiplication, subtraction, and division -- in a development that was dubbed by the company "Cal Tech" [sources: Courier Mail, Texas Instruments[sources: Courier Mail, Texas Instruments].

Utilizing "Cal Tech" technology, Canon created its first hand-held calculator to be used in commercial settings, that was released in 1970, with the price at $400 (source: Texas Instruments]. The following years were an intense race between manufacturers to create calculators that were smaller, easier to use and more affordable. The year 1972 was when British creator Sir Clive Sinclair introduced the Sinclair Executive, which is widely regarded as the first pocket calculator (sources: The Press, Western Daily PressThe Press, Western Daily Press. Its thickness was comparable to cigarettes in a pack.

The constant advancements of calculator technology were largely enabled by the invention of the single chip microprocessor in the 1960s. Prior to this engineers had built the computing "brains" of calculators (and computers) using multiple chips or other components. A single-chip microprocessor lets a complete central processing unit (CPU) to reside on a single silicon microchip. (To find out more about this technology, read the article How Microprocessors work.)

Intel Corp. created the first single-chip microprocessor that was commercially available called Intel 4004 Intel 4004 -- in 1971 (sources: Behar, Intel]. It could perform basic arithmetic and 4 bits of data at a time. But Intel's co-founder, Gordon Moore, predicted that the capabilities of one chip would increase by approximately each two years. This is known as "Moore's Law," and to this day, it remains the truth. While calculators did get smaller with time, but they also became more capable of sophisticated functions (source: Intel].

Today, aside from advanced versions of the basic pocket calculator sophisticated graphing and scientific calculators are used by professionals and students like engineers. A lot of them use widely-used computer languages and can be programmed according to the needs of the user. In fact the time that Texas Instruments introduced its TI-92 model in 1995, they described the model "a calculator with the power of a computer lab" [source: Texas Instruments]. Numerous graphing and scientific calculators can perform certain of these tasks:

  • Moving from the base-ten system to different number systems (hexadecimal counting, which is an example of a system that is base-16)
  • Utilizing scientific notation to calculate extremely large numbers
  • Utilizing trigonometric and logarithm functions directly
  • Working with constants such as pi and e, you can achieve greater levels of precision
  • Utilizing complex numbers as well as formulas, fractions and other complex numbers
  • Solving equations
  • Analysis of statistics
  • Utilizing larger displays to calculate graphs and formulas

Continue reading to in the following section, to learn details about circuit boards, solar cells, and other components that comprise the calculator.

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