Page 8 - Computer Class 04
P. 8

The  name  computer  as  you  know  comes  from  the  word  compute  which
             means to calculate. So, earliest  computers were just calculating devices.

             As  the  human  race  evolved,  so  developed  their  social  and  commercial
             activities  and  with  these  developments  was  felt  the  need  of  some

             calculating devices.

             Let us read about how computers have developed over time with it.
             Abacus

             The earliest calculating device is accounted to

             be  the  abacus         .  It  was  invented  by  the

             Babylonians in around 500 BC.
             An abacus consisted of a wooden frame, rods

             and  beads.  Each  rod  represented  a  different
             place value – ones, tens, hundreds, thousands

             and so on.

             Addition  and  subtraction  could  easily  be
             performed by moving beads along the rods of

             the abacus.                                                                       Abacus





               Special  abacues  have  been  developed  and  are  used  by  the  blind  children  to
               learn addition, subtraction and multiplication.


                                         Napier’s Rods


                                         The  second  calculating  machine  was
                                         Napier’s Rods       .  It  was  also  known  as

                                         Napier’s Bones.

                                         It  was  invented  by  John  Napier,  a
                                         Mathematician from Scotland, in 1617.
                 Napier’s Rods
                                         It  could  do  addition,  subtraction,  multiplication  and


             division. This method was based upon manipulation of rods with printed

             digits. The rods were made of bone, ivory, wood or metal.





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