calculator

• TechTarget Contributor

1) Calculators: A calculatoris a device that performs arithmetic computations on numbers. The simple calculatorscan be used for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Advanced calculators are capable of handling exponential operations, roots as well as logarithm s, trigonometric calculations, and hyperbolic functions. Internally, some calculators actually complete all of these functions by repeating the process of adding.

A majority of calculatorsthese nowadays require electricity to run. Portable, battery-powered calculators are popular among Engineering students and engineers. Before 1970 a more primitive model of calculator known as the slide rule, was popularly used. It consisted of a slat of wood, referred to as the slide, which could be moved into and out by a reinforced pair slats. Both the slide and the other pair of slats came with calibrated scales for numerical values. A movable, transparent piece of cloth called the cursor was used to align numerals on the scales. The slide rule didn't require any power source However, its precision was limited, and it was required to climb a learning curve to become proficient with it.

One of the oldest calculators The abacus is still in use in some parts in the Far East. Abacus is a device that uses beads to signify numbers. Similar to the slide rule the abacus requires no source of energy. Its beads are located across a number of rows and are able to be moved up and down to denote arithmetic operations. According to some, a skilled abacus user can make calculations as quickly as someone who is equipped with a battery-powered calculator.

As calculators developed in the 1970s they were capable of computing variables (unknowns). They became the very first personal computer. Personal computers today can do these tasks as well, and many come with an electronic calculator application that looks at the screen like the handheld calculator. The buttons are controlled with a click and point.

In theory, a computer is the equivalent of a calculator that works with binary numbers and has a large memory. But in the real world the computer is beyond a simple calculator, because of the wide variety of non-computational jobs it can do.