Calculating Machines

Calculating Machines

 
 

The Computer Museum

Today, it's hard to imagine life without computers. They help us with every part of our lives — whether it's writing a paper for school or buying a candy bar at the corner store. But it took thousands of years for humankind to develop the sophisticated machines we take for granted these days.

 Next stop, Calculating Machines (Review)! Here you can
 check out a chronology of the earliest calculators, and, if
 you have a Java-enabled browser, try one out for
 yourself.

 Everyone knows that computers have grown by leaps and
 bounds in the latter part of the twentieth century — but
 where to begin? Try the Computer Museum Network's
 Historical Timeline (Review). Click on any year from
 1945 through 1990 to learn about computing milestones,
 including ENIAC, early supercomputers, and the rise of
 the personal computer. Click again on any fact to get even
 more information and historic photos.

 And for a broader overview of the computer's past, visit
 Triumph of the Nerds: A History of the Computer
 (Review). Here you'll find everything from information
 about the earliest abaci to the development of the
 transistor and the introduction of the World Wide Web.

1)  What is an abacus  used for?
                      The abacus is a mechanical aid used for counting.
                      Addition, subtraction, division and multiplication can
                      also be performed on a standard abacus.
 

 2)  How is an abacus is typically constructed?
                      The abacus is typically constructed of various types of
                      hardwoods and comes in varying sizes. The frame of
                      the abacus has a series of vertical rods (at one time
                      perhaps made of bamboo) on which a number of
                      wooden beads are allowed to slide freely. A horizontal
                      beam separates the frame into two sections, known as
                      the upper deck and the lower deck. 

 3)  How are calculations performed on an abacus?
                      Calculations are performed by placing the abacus flat
                      on a table or one's lap and manipulating the beads
                      with the fingers of one hand. 
                      Each bead in the upper deck has a value of five; each
                      bead in the lower deck has a value of one. 

 4)  Why does the abacus exist?
                      The abacus is a mechanical aid used for counting; it is not a calculator in the
                      sense we use the word today. 
                      The person operating the abacus performs calculations in their head and uses the      abacus to keep track of the sums, the carrys, etc. 
                      The device evolved from a simple need to count numbers. Merchants trading goods  not only needed a way to count goods bought and sold, but also to quickly calculate the cost of those goods. 
                       Until numbers were invented, these counting devices were used to make everyday calculations. 

 5)  What is the difference between a counting board and an abacus?
                       It is important to distinguish the early abacuses (or abacii) known as counting boards from the "modern" abacii. The counting board is a piece of wood, stone or metal with carved grooves or painted lines between which beads, pebbles or metal dics were moved. The abacus is a device, usually of wood (plastic, in recent times), having a frame that holds rods with freely-sliding beads mounted on them.

 6)  What did the first counting board look like?
                       The earliest counting boards are forever lost because of the perishable materials used in their construction. We can, however, make educated guesses about how they were built. The simplest counting board probably involved drawing lines (representing the units 10s, 100s, etc.) in the sand and using small pebbles, as place holders representing numbers, within those marks. With the need for something more durable, wooden boards with grooves carved into them, were probably created. The wooden boards then gave way to more permanent marble (or other stone) and metal tablets.

 7)  What is  "The Salamis Tablet"?
       The oldest surviving counting board is the Salamis tablet, used by the Babylonians circa 300 B.C., discovered in 1899 on the island of Salamis. It is a slab of marble marked with 2 sets of eleven vertical lines (10 columns), a blank space between them, a horizontal line crossing each set of  lines and Greek symbols along the top and bottom.. 

 8)  Who won the exciting contest between the Japanese abacus and the electric calculating          machine? 
                   An exciting contest between the Japanese abacus and the
                   electric calculating machine was held in Tokyo on November
                   12, 1946, under the sponsorship of the U. S. Army
                   newspaper, the Stars and Stripes. In reporting the contest,
                   the Stars and Stripes remarked: 

                    "The machine age tool took a step backward
                     yesterday at the Emie Pyle Theater as the
                     abacus, centuries old, dealt defeat to the most
                      up-to-date electric machine now being used by
                      the United States Government...The abacus
                      victory was decisive."

 9)  What can the 1885 Felt & Tarrant "Comptometer" adding machine be used to calculate?
       This machine was used mainly for addition, but  is capable of subtraction, multiplication and
        division. 
            "The interactive Adding Machine, one you can use!!"

10)  Who or what is "Shakey"?Shakey, a 6 foot high mobile 
                                               floor model (think Lost in
                                               Space) who was capable of
                                               applying reason to the problem
                                               of obstacle avoidance--at the
                                               blistering pace of 2 meters per
                                               hour!