Online Calculator

How long have we spent as a species counting and counting numbers? Probably since our species has existed. How did we do it back then? Now let's take a quick look at how the art of arithmetic has evolved over the years, from fingers and pebbles to advanced computers that can perform complex calculations in less than a second. Fingers and pebbles? Well, this must be the oldest calculation method. History of pocket calculators - I mean any device or machine capable of facilitating and speeding up the performance of fairly complex calculations - It actually started around 2500-2000 BC. With the invention of the abacus, the abacus was first used in Sumer (modern day Iraq) and Egypt. It's a wooden frame with sliding ledges on horizontal bars.

Centuries later, in the 17th century, Napier bones were discovered. The bones are thin sticks with multiplication tables written on them. Adjusting the vertical alignment of the bars allows users to read their multiplicative totals horizontally. Napier's bones and abacus remained in accounting offices well into the 19th century, though other analytical inventions followed. In the same 17th century, the slide rule was invented. It consisted of a sliding stick for fast multiplication on a logarithmic scale, and remained the pocket calculator until the 1980s. Blaise Pascal also invented his Pascal calculator in 1642. It is the first device of its kind that can perform all four arithmetic operations without relying on human intelligence. It used sprockets and was considered to be really ingenious, but it was difficult to manufacture so very few were produced.

Then, in 1850, Thomas de Colmar introduced the four-function arithmetic calculator, the first mechanical calculator considered robust enough for everyday use. After his invention, mechanical calculators quickly became popular and could perform all four arithmetic operations quickly and accurately. The biggest problem with all of these devices is that they are usually big and heavy. This size problem was solved in 1948 with the short calculator invented by Curt Herzstark. An impressive ingenuity for its time, it was small enough to hold in the hand, capable of performing all four arithmetic calculations quickly and accurately, and some models could display answers to 15 digits (if anyone considers , which was a truly remarkable foot at the time) ). iPhone 6 Plus shows 16-digit answers in science mode! ). It was the best and last mechanical computer.

As electronics became more important, various types of calculators were developed, starting with the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) in 1946, thousands of times faster than electromechanical computers but using nearly 18,000 a vacuum tube. , occupies a large area, and consumes as much electricity as a small town. Electronic calculators continued to be invented from the 1960s to the 1970s as vacuum tubes were replaced by thermotrons, then solid-state transistors, and finally microchips, with each new product attempting to improve on size. , energy consumption, processing power and cost. In the 1980s, pocket calculators became more compact, powered by solar cells or button batteries, featured a wide range of functions, and were very inexpensive.

Industry-specific calculators, which could conduct more intricate and advanced calculations and were adapted to the needs of their respective industries, first appeared in the 1980s. The widespread use of PCs and laptops in the 1990s was accompanied by the development of cell phones with built-in calculators. Since then, phones have evolved, and calculators have always been a feature of cell phones. With modern smartphones, you can even download some of these more specialized calculators as an app. The 'dumb' calculator has not lost any relevance despite the prevalence of smartphones with calculators since it is still preferred by those who work with large numbers on a regular basis and is the only sort of computer permitted.