All About Abacus

Abacus is a Latin word which has its origins in the Greek word aback or abalone (meaning "table" or "tablet") which, in turn, possibly originated from the Semitic word ABQ, which means "sand".

Why ball frameworks exist?

It is difficult to imagine counting without numbers, but there was a time when written numbers did not exist. The earliest counting device was the human hand and fingers. So, since large quantities (more than ten human fingers could represent) were counted, different physical objects as stone and twig was used two assists count. Merchants who traded products not only need a way to count the goods they have bought and sold, but also two calculate the price of these goods. Until numbers were invented, counting devices were used two make everyday calculations. Abacus is one of many counting devices invented two assists count large numbers.

The difference between a counting board and an abacus:

It is important to distinguish between the two early Abacus (and abaci) known as counting boards from the modern abaci. The counting board is a piece of wood, stone or metal with carved grooves or painted lines between which beads, stone or metal discs were moved. Abacus is a device, usually of wood (plastic, in recent times) that have a framework which team sticks with freely-sliding beads mounted on them.

Both Abacus and the counting board are mechanical aids used for counting, and they are not calculators in the sense we use the word today. The person operating the abacus performs calculations in his head and uses the abacus as a physical aid to keep track of the amount the carrier, etc.

What made the first census of the board look like?

The earliest counting boards are forever lost because of the perishable materials used in their construction. But the educated guess made about their construction, based on the early writings Plutarch (a priest at the Oracle Delphi) and others.

The outdoor markets of those times, involved the simplest counting board draw lines in the sand with your fingers or with a stylus, and placing pebbles between those lines as place-holders representing numbers (the distance between 2 lines would represent the units 10s, 100s , etc.). The more wealthy people could afford small wooden tables have raised borders that were filled with sand (usually colored blue or green). One benefit of these counting boards on tables was that they could be moved without disturbing the calculation, the table can be picked up and carried indoors.

With the need for portable devices, wooden boards with grooves carved into the surface was then created and wooden markers (small discs) were used as place-holders. Board then two-way gift even more durable materials like marble and metal (bronze) used with stone or metal markers.

Evolution: The Abacus through the ages:

The development of the abacus can be divided into three age groups: ancient, medieval, and Modern Times. The time-line below traces the developing world abacus from its beginnings around 500 BC to the present.

During the Greek and Roman times count boards, as the Roman hand-abacus that survive are built of stone and metal (as a reference point, the Roman Empire fell around. 500 AD).

Wood was the primary material which counts boards were manufactured, orientation of the beads changed from vertical two horizontal. As arithmetic (counting using written numbers) gained popularity in the last part of the Middle Ages, the use of the abacus began two less in Europe.

Modern Times:

Abacus as we know it today, appeared (out) circa 1200 AD in China, in China, it is called Sudan-pan. On each root, these classic Chinese abacus 2 beads on the upper deck and 5 on the lower deck, and such abacus also mentioned as a 2 / 5 abacus. The 2 / 5 style survived unchanged until about 1850 hours, where 1 / 5 (one bead on the upper deck and five beads on the bottom deck) abacus forward.

Circa 1600 AD, use and development of the Chinese 1 / 5 ball framework was initiated by the Japanese via Korea. In Japanese, the abacus is called Sorbian. 1 / 4 abacus, a style preferred and still produced in Japan today, appeared circa 1930th The 1 / 5 models are rare today and 2 / 5 models are rare outside of China (except the Chinese community in North America and elsewhere).

It is believed that early Christians brought the abacus to the east (note that both Sudan-pan and the Roman hand-abacus has a vertical direction). Aspects of Roman culture could have been introduced to China as early as 166 AD, during the Han Dynasty, as Roman emperor Antonymous Pius' embassies to China spread along the Silk Road.

There have been recent proposals from a Mesoamerican (the Aztec civilization that existed in the day Mexico) Abacus called Nepohualtzitzin, circa 900-1000 AD, where the counters were made from kernels of maize threaded through strings mounted on a wooden frame. There is also debate about INCAN Khipu-it was a three-dimensional binary calculator or a form of writing? (Q.v. Talking Knots of the Incas).

The shot is a Russian Abacus invented in the 17th century and still used today in some parts.

Abacus Today:

The image on the right is a cover of a manual published in 1958 by Lee Kai-chin, the inventor of this "new" abacus designed with 4 tires (the combines two abaci; top abacus is a small 1 / 4 Sorbian and the bottom is a 2 / 5 Sudan-pan).

The author argues that multiplication and division easier to use this modified Abacus and provides for the calculation of square roots and cubic roots of numbers.