How Have Calculators Developed - Essay Example

Calculators Mathematics of the April 9, Calculators It is a fact that a small machine like calculator has indeed revolutionized the way people lead their life. May sound unbelievable, but there were times when it was utterly difficult to readily make calculations impacting the daily human life. Life was slow and indolent and people found it next to impossible to contrive even the most simplest of calculations. However, the advent of calculators in the 70s changed everything. For the first time it became feasible for people to solve complex calculations in a matter of seconds. Though it was in the 70s that the handheld calculators appeared on scene, yet historically speaking, the humanity has been trying since long to come out with machines that could make the work of calculating things really simple. Each age and time had its own version of calculators that relied on the available technologies to make the calculations in a fast way. To begin with the calculators happened to be mechanical. Abacus was the very first calculator that was used by the Egyptians and Sumerians way back in the 2000 BC (Funk, 2013). It was the first hand operated mechanical calculator that comprised of a frame carrying rods with each rod carrying ten beans that could easily slide. This indeed made mathematical operations, especially addition and subtraction much easier. It would not be wrong to say that the world of calculators remained stolid for many centuries. The contrivance of logarithms by the mathematician John Napier once again revolutionized the world of calculators. This led to the discovery of slide rule calculators which relied on logarithms to do fast and quick calculations (Funk, 2013). During time the invention of gears led to further advancements in calculators. The French philosopher and avid mathematician Blaise Pascal invented the first mechanical calculator that could compute all the four mathematical operations sans human intervention or the usage of human intelligence (Funk, 2013). The mechanical machine invented by Pascal in 1642 relied on wheels and gears to carry on mathematical calculations. The adding machine that achieved apt commercial success in the field of calculators was the one invented by William Seward Burroughs in 1886 (Funk, 2013). The push button machine that took calculators to another level was invented by Dorr E Felt and it was called Comptometer (Funk, 2013). The Curta calculator happened to be the most advanced mechanical calculator that was invented in 1948. It was so small that it could be carried into a pocket. As the Second World War seemed imminent, this led to much experimentation to contrive state of the art calculators which the military and navy men could use to calculate advance calculations in the shortest possible time. Colossus was the first electronic calculator that was invented during the War to break advanced codes (Cortada, 2012). However, the machinery of this calculator was very complex and relied on thermionic valves. However the calculators made till now were still limited and constrained in their ability and processing power. It was in 1946 that with the invention of Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer that the world saw the invention of the first table calculator that could compute much faster as compared to the calculators invented till now (Cortada, 2012). Again the machinery of this calculator was utterly bulky, comprising of an array of parts like vacuum tubes, capacitors, resistors, diodes, joints, etc. In early 60s the company Control Systems Limited invented the world’s first all desktop calculator. This calculator was named ANITA. As it was the first desktop calculator ever invented, thousands of ANITAs were sold till the arrival of transistors totally altered the way electronic calculators looked and worked. A host of companies like Canon, Wang, Sony, Toshiba, and SCM began to make transistor based calculators. However, the thing that needs to be mentioned is that even now, the electronic calculators happened to be more or less heavy and wieldy machines that coasted much and were limiting advanced as compared to the calculators that people use today. It was in 1966 that the first handheld calculator that could be put into a pocket was developed by Texas Instruments (Cortada, 2012). In 1974, Texas Instruments was the first to subscribe to a patent for a handheld miniature calculator. The thing that was to hugely influence the size and computing and processing power of the calculators was the invention of semiconductor by Texas Instruments in 1958 (Cortada, 2012). The company got its patent in 1964. The Texas Instruments was also to invent and patent the advanced MOS/LSI technology (Cortada, 2012). It is very same technology that is used in the contemporary miniature calculators. It was with these technologies that it became possible to integrate an array of equipments and spare parts on a chip barely measuring an inch in length. Yet, it was the Japanese company Busicom that was to launch a range of handheld, pocket size calculators that were integrated and compiled on a single chip (Teece, 2002). Going by the rising craze of the miniature calculators amongst the masses an array of companies like Sinclair, Hewlett Packard and Texas Instruments began to launch calculators that could be programmed and that carried enhanced memory and processing power. The world was getting used to the fast and pocket sized calculators and this craze for miniature calculators amongst the masses led to an aggressive launching of new models carrying additional computing features by multiple companies. By the time it was 80s, the pocket sized miniature calculators had already taken the shape and processing ability as it is known to people today. The advent of new technologies and semiconductors made the calculators really cheap and affordable. No more the calculators were unwieldy, bulky and costly as they happened to be in the past. In a contemporary context the calculators are evolving and tacking new forms with the advent of new technologies like touch screen and computers. Arrays of calculators that present varied features are available in the market today. Some calculators are able to mimic the features of a pocket computer. There are also available specialized calculators used for computing in the world of science and technology. There are also available graphing calculators in the market. The world of electronics is undergoing vertical integration and the calculators constitute an integral feature of most of the smart phones today. The calculators make calculations with the help of the integrated circuits that are also called chips. These integrated circuits are able to make advanced calculations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, finding logarithms and calculating roots with the help of the transistors embedded in their chips (Richards, 1995). The greater the number of transistors in the chip of a calculator, the more advanced it happens to be. The computing power and the processing ability of any calculator are dependent on the number of transistors embedded in its chip. The chip of a calculator converts all the information fed to it in binary notations, which converts numbers and mathematical calculations into a two digit system comprising of 0 and 1 (Richards, 1995). The microchips in the calculators used binary logic to make complex calculations by turning the transistors on and off with the help of electric charge (Richards, 1995). Calculators did indeed have a huge impact on the world of mathematics and science by making it possible to make advanced calculations in a matter of seconds. Calculators have made the process of making mathematical and scientific calculations utterly fast and quick. It has enabled the academicians, scientists, mathematicians and the common people make advanced calculations at a fast pace and in a way have revolutionized the world in multiple ways. Today, it won’t be wrong to say that nobody can simply do without a calculator in one’s pocket. Works Cited Cortada, J.W. (2012). The Digital Flood. New York: Oxford University Press. Funk, J.L. (2013). Technology Change and the Rise of New Industries. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Richards, R.K. (1995). Arithmetic Operations in Digital Computers. New York: Van Nostrand. Teece, D.J. (2002). Managing Intellectual Capital. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More