😍 Online scientific calculator

Today, a calculator is one of the most common electronic devices that allows you to perform all the basic mathematical calculations: addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, calculating percentages, raising to a power, extracting a root, and so on.

More complex, engineering models can also calculate logarithms and differentials, exponents, and trigonometric functions (sin, cos, tg, ctg).

History of the calculator

The word "calculator" comes from the Latin calculo, which translates as "I count" or "I count." It is noteworthy that calculo, in turn, comes from the word calculus - "pebble", which indirectly confirms the version that in ancient times small stones were used for calculations. As for the first abacus, the progenitor of the modern calculator, they were invented over 3,000 years ago. The samples that have survived to this day were found on the territory of modern Mongolia.

A more complex computing device, the Antikythera Mechanism, was invented in the 3rd-2nd century BC. He allowed to calculate the movement of celestial bodies, as well as to perform the simplest mathematical operations: addition, subtraction and division. One of these mechanisms was found near the island of Antikythera - on a sunken Italian ship.

Another ancient computing device - the abacus - dates back to the 6th century AD, and is a small board with grooves in which pebbles or tokens with drawn numbers were placed in a row. Such devices were widely used in trade between European and Asian countries during the Middle Ages.

Non-electronic computers

The Antikythera Mechanism, the abacus and the abacus are quite primitive devices used for simple calculations at the dawn of civilization. By the way, the latter (accounts) went out of wide use only at the end of the 20th century - when electronic calculators became affordable for the bulk of buyers. In any case, the inventions of later centuries, from the 17th to the 20th centuries, became the real prerequisites for the creation of an electronic computer.

Thus, in 1643 Blaise Pascal created an adding machine, and in 1673 Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz presented his first adding machine to the general public. In 1876, Pafnuty Lvovich Chebyshev designed a summing apparatus with continuous transmission of tens, and in 1881 this invention was finalized and also made it possible to carry out operations for multiplying and dividing numbers. This is where the history of non-electronic computers ends, and gives way to technological devices that run on electricity.

Electronic calculators

The first electronic calculator with relays and semiconductor parts was created in 1957 by the Japanese company Casio, had the dimensions of a cabinet and weighed over 100 kilograms. In 1961, the UK developed a more compact ANITA Mark VIII device using gas-discharge lamps, and in 1964 the USA and the USSR presented their developments, the Friden EC-130 and Vega models, respectively.

The world's first engineering calculator in 1965 was the Wang LOCI-2 apparatus from the American company Wang Laboratories. In addition to arithmetic operations, he could calculate logarithms. In the same year, the Japanese company Casio introduced the first model of a computer with electronic memory, capable of remembering and repeating completed operations. And in 1969, Hewlett-Packard presented a programmable calculator for scientific and technical calculations HP 9100A with 16 memory registers. It was already quite compact, weighing only 16 kilograms and could be placed on the table.

During the 1980s, calculators became smaller, cheaper, and became available not only to large organizations, but also to individual buyers. Models familiar to us with solar batteries and liquid crystal displays appeared on sale, which are still being produced, despite the fact that today there is a calculator in any smartphone.

Interesting facts

Numerical values on push-button calculators increase from bottom to top, not from top to bottom (as on mobile phones and touch devices).
The upside down numbers on the calculator board can be used to form different words: google (376006), boogie (316008) or hell (7734).
Modern LCD electronic calculators can run complex computer applications. For example, the legendary shooter of the 90s Doom was able to run on the HP Prime G2 model.

Summing up, we can say that push-button calculators, especially engineering calculators, have not ceased to be relevant and are widely in demand among specialists. And on computer equipment with Internet access, online calculators are most common, allowing you to make any mathematical calculations.

Even such a seemingly simple device as a calculator can cause difficulties for users who are not familiar with its 100% functionality. We are talking about an engineering calculator with an extended set of operations, to which, in addition to simple mathematical calculations, trigonometric functions, natural and decimal logarithms have been added. How to use such a device and what options are provided in it?

Standard and additional buttons

Regardless of whether it is a push-button or digital/software engineering calculator, its central panel contains standard and additional buttons. The first include numbers: from 0 to 9, addition and subtraction ("+" and "−"), multiplication and division ("×" and "÷") and the equal sign "=". In the list of standard buttons that are found today even on ordinary (non-engineering) calculators, we also include the square root "√", exponentiation "x2" or "xy", part of the whole "1 / x", percentage of the number "%" , decimal separator "." and brackets "(", ")".

These keys are enough for most calculations, but for more complex calculations, additional buttons are used:

"ex" - exponent.
"sin" and "sin −1" are sine and arcsine.
"cos" and "cos −1" are cosine and arccosine.
"tan" and "tan −1" are tangent and arctangent.
"ln" and "log" are natural and decimal logarithms.
"neg" - minus sign (for entering negative numbers).
"π" is a constant equal to the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
"e" is the Euler number (e), or the dimensionless coefficient for the Navier-Stokes equations.
"φ" is Euler's multiplicative arithmetic function.
"inv" is an inverse function, for example - "inv Sin" = "arcSin".
"+/−" is a button that changes the value of a number from plus to minus and vice versa.
"rnd" - rounding the number.
"Mode" is a button that switches degrees to radians and vice versa.

The top panel of the engineering calculator (under the digital display) also contains buttons for working with the device's memory:

"→" - delete the last dialed digit (button similar to "Backspace" on the keyboard).
"M+" - store a number in memory with a "+" sign.
"M−" - store the number in memory with the "−" sign.
"MR" - display the saved number on the screen.
"MC" - delete the stored number from memory.
"AC" - reset the calculator to "0" (including clearing memory).
"C" - reset the calculator to "0" without clearing the memory.

In some models of calculators, the "M+" and "M−" buttons are combined into "MS" (memory save), and in addition to a single zero, a double "00" is also used. The square root can be displayed on the key as a standard icon "√" or the letter designation "Sqrt", and exponentiation - as "^" or "xy" (raising "x" to the power of "y"). The keypad may also have separate "x2" and "x3" keys for squaring and cubeping, respectively.

And of course, if we are talking about a push-button device, it must have an “On / Off” key that turns the calculator on and off.

How to use an engineering calculator correctly

Engineering calculators are complex, multi-functional devices that can vary significantly from one model to another. The differences may lie in the absence of certain buttons and in their different designations. For example, the arc tangent in one model can be denoted as "tan −1", and in another as "atg", and instead of the minus sign, the notation "neg" is used.

In order to know exactly the purpose of all the keys, ideally you need to read the instructions that come with the device. In the case of engineering calculators, it can include dozens of pages and not only list the set of available functions, but also explain how to use them correctly. When handling an engineering calculator, it is also important:

Use enough brackets "(" and ")" to indicate the precedence of mathematical operations. Without them, complex mathematical formulas will be calculated incorrectly, because "a × (b - c)" is not at all the same as "a × b - c".
Write intermediate calculation results to the device's memory using the "M+" and "M−" (or "MS") keys. At the right time, the previously obtained value can be displayed on the screen with the “MR” button.
Don't forget to reset the device every time you start a new calculation. To do this, there are buttons "AC" and "C". The first resets the memory and clears the screen, while the second only clears the screen.

Summarizing, we can say that modern engineering calculators have already been brought to perfection and do not need further improvement. They are able to perform complex calculations in a fraction of a second and have a wide range of functions. The processing power of the device can even be enough to run a complex 3D application.