First Calculator(C. 1000 B.C.E.)
The early calculator instrument we know as the abacus consisting of wooden frame supporting wires or rods on which wooden beads slide from side to side .
It was developed in Mesopotamia from a flat, sand-covered stone counting board on which pebbles were moved. This aid to calculation was in use long before the adoption of the Hindu-Arabic numeral system and can be adapted to any numeral base. This type of calculator has a huge advantages over counting on the fingers of the hand because it can be used to record very large numbers accurately.
The easiest type of abacus to understand is the modern western version that uses base of ten. Here each wire carries ten beads and represents a decade unit i.e, one's, ten's, 100,1000 and so on. A number, say 617483 can be represented by positioning the respective number of beads on each wire against one side of the abacus. It is then a relatively easy task to add or subtract another number from the first one.
After a calculation the whole abacus can also be reset for further computing by a simple shake.
Abaci were widely used throughout the ancient world and are still important as a teaching aid in pre-school. The movement of the beads helps children to understand the groupings of ten that are the foundation of our present number system.
Other abacus with interior dividing bar were produced. The Chinese suan-pad, introduced about 1200 C.E., had five beads on one side of the bar and two above. The Japanese soroban originally had a five to one bead distribution. The European pattern followed by the Russian schety with ten beads and no bar.
After a calculation the whole abacus can also be reset for further computing by a simple shake.
Abaci were widely used throughout the ancient world and are still important as a teaching aid in pre-school. The movement of the beads helps children to understand the groupings of ten that are the foundation of our present number system.
Other abacus with interior dividing bar were produced. The Chinese suan-pad, introduced about 1200 C.E., had five beads on one side of the bar and two above. The Japanese soroban originally had a five to one bead distribution. The European pattern followed by the Russian schety with ten beads and no bar.
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