Calculators

 

 

Abacus: The Art of Calculating With Beads
Provides extensive information on the history, construction, and use of the abacus (including detailed instructions on performing addition and subtraction functions), as well as comparisons of abacuses from different cultures. Features an interactive abacus that indicates the value of each column by clicking on the mouse to manipulate the beads. Also contains resources for teachers.
http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/

 

Biographies of Women Mathematicians
Biographical information on more than 125 women mathematicians. The biographies, which vary in size, are indexed alphabetically by name and chronologically by century of the mathematician's birth. All biographies are fully referenced. Only a few are accompanied by a picture. The site is part of an ongoing project by mathematics students at Agnes Scott College, in Atlanta, Georgia. Searchable.
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm

 

Calculating Machines
Features history and photographs of mechanical calculating machines. Includes advertisements, with descriptions, from 1937-1954. Discusses adding machines, calculators, and the earlier devices - the abacus and slide rule. Provides access to sites of related organizations, and periodicals.
http://www.webcom.com/calc/

 

Chisanbop: Advanced Counting on Fingers
Chisanbop: Advanced Counting on Fingers
http://www.mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/58778.html

 

A History of Mechanical Calculators

Part I: The Age of the Polymaths. Part II: Crossing the 19th Century. Part III: Getting Ready for the 20th Century. Much more...

http://www.xnumber.com/xnumber/cmhistory.htm

 

The MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
Searchable archive containing information about the history of math. Topics include biographies of mathematicians from ancient times to the present (including a timeline), mathematics in various cultures, an overview of the history of mathematics, mathematical topics, famous curves, and "mathematicians of the day." From the School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/

 

Martindale's Calculators On-Line Center
This site contains nearly 20,000 links to online calculators. The collection is organized into several sections: mathematics and statistics; science A-Z; chemistry; physics, astrophysics, and astronomy; engineering A-Z; and electrical and computer engineering. The general calculators category is broken into two parts, A-G and F-H, and includes calculators for almost every imaginable topic--car pricing, traffic noise, cooking measurements, mortgage loans, office space, wind chill, and many, many more.
http://www.martindalecenter.com/Calculators.html

 

Vintage Calculators
Explores the history of calculating devices beginning 5000 years ago, from the abacus to the invention of the electronic calculator. Includes a drawing or photo of each device, an explanation of how it works, and its inventor. Features a discussion forum, and related links.
http://www.xnumber.com/xnumber/vintage.htm

 

 

 

How Stuff Works

http://www.howstuffworks.com/

 

 

The Abacus: Introduction
The abacus is a mechanical aid used for counting; it is not a calculator in the
sense ... The standard abacus can be used to perform addition, subtraction, ...
http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/intro.html

 

Basic Slide Rule Instructions
Explains how to multiply, find cube and square roots and other operations.
Includes illustrations.
http://www.hpmuseum.org/srinst.htm

 

Blaise Pascal's Arithmetic Machine
However, Pascal's device could only add and subtract, while multiplication ...
In fact the Arithmetic Machine could really only add, because subtractions ...

http://www.maxmon.com/1640ad.htm