The Abacus is a tool used for numerical calculation and recording. The abacus was widely used by people in the ancient times, because of its ability to make difficult calculations easier and more understandable (if you know how to use it). The abacus was used for all kinds of situations : transactions, recording the amounts of trading goods, calculating for sciences, and much more. The abacus was designed and used in many of regions as well, for example India and Western Europe. The Chinese abacus is different from other styles of abacuses that use base 10 computations, the Chinese abacus uses the system of hexadecimal computation.
The Chinese abacus, or "Suan Pan", is a collection of beads strung on wires or thin wooden rods; there is a divider between the beads, to sperate them. On one side of the divider there are two beads, and on the other side there are five beads. On the side with two beads each bead represents five, while on the side with five beads each bead represents one. Each string, or rod, has a decimal value : the first is ones, the second tens, the third hundred, and etc. So if you want to record a number, first you move all of the beads away from the central division; if a bead is positioned next to the central division that means it is active, if it is away from the central division it is not active. To record the number seven you need to move one of the two beads, on the first rod, towards the central division, recording the number five; then you move two beads from the side with five beads toward the central division for two. Once the beads are positioned in the active region of the abacus you have a recorded the number seven. You can try this out for yourself, just click the button at the bottom of this post to interact with a virtual abacus.
The abacus increased the amount of trade and interaction between people. The abacus made difficult calculations far easier, allowing a larger range of people to be able utilize mathematics. The abacus allowed these people to keep track of their money, calculate the prices of goods, and determine how many items they could buy with their money. With the use of the abacus becoming widespread, more people were able to carry out transactions simply. The widespread use of the abacus supported and allowed trade to flourish. And as more people began trading, more people began to interact with each other; and when people with different cultures and ideas begin to interact they diffuse their ideas. So, with this increase in interaction more ideas were shared between different cultures, and beliefs and customs were diffused and melded with one another. The abacus was revolutionary in its time, allowing for easier calculation; similar to the calculators we have today.
The Chinese abacus, or "Suan Pan", is a collection of beads strung on wires or thin wooden rods; there is a divider between the beads, to sperate them. On one side of the divider there are two beads, and on the other side there are five beads. On the side with two beads each bead represents five, while on the side with five beads each bead represents one. Each string, or rod, has a decimal value : the first is ones, the second tens, the third hundred, and etc. So if you want to record a number, first you move all of the beads away from the central division; if a bead is positioned next to the central division that means it is active, if it is away from the central division it is not active. To record the number seven you need to move one of the two beads, on the first rod, towards the central division, recording the number five; then you move two beads from the side with five beads toward the central division for two. Once the beads are positioned in the active region of the abacus you have a recorded the number seven. You can try this out for yourself, just click the button at the bottom of this post to interact with a virtual abacus.
The abacus increased the amount of trade and interaction between people. The abacus made difficult calculations far easier, allowing a larger range of people to be able utilize mathematics. The abacus allowed these people to keep track of their money, calculate the prices of goods, and determine how many items they could buy with their money. With the use of the abacus becoming widespread, more people were able to carry out transactions simply. The widespread use of the abacus supported and allowed trade to flourish. And as more people began trading, more people began to interact with each other; and when people with different cultures and ideas begin to interact they diffuse their ideas. So, with this increase in interaction more ideas were shared between different cultures, and beliefs and customs were diffused and melded with one another. The abacus was revolutionary in its time, allowing for easier calculation; similar to the calculators we have today.