ABACUS
The first actual calculating mechanism known to us is
the abacus, which is thought to have been invented by the Babylonians sometime between 1,000
BC and 500 BC, although some pundits are of the opinion that it was
actually invented by the Chinese.
The
word abacus comes to us by way of Latin as a mutation of the Greek word abax.
In turn, the Greeks may have adopted the Phoenician word abak, meaning
"sand", although some authorities lean toward the Hebrew word abhaq,
meaning "dust."
Irrespective
of the source, the original concept referred to a flat stone covered with sand
(or dust) into which numeric symbols were drawn. The first abacus was almost
certainly based on such a stone, with pebbles being placed on lines drawn in
the sand. Over time the stone was replaced by a wooden frame supporting thin
sticks, braided hair, or leather thongs, onto which clay beads or pebbles with
holes were threaded.
A
variety of different types of abacus were developed, but the most popular
became those based on the bi-quinary system, which utilizes a combination of
two bases (base-2 and base-5) to represent decimal numbers. Although the abacus
does not qualify as a mechanical calculator, it certainly stands proud as one
of first mechanical aids to calculation.
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