ABACUS
Introduction
Long back when calculations just begin to use and the only way to solve them was manual calculations. There was no other easy or fast way to make the calculation. But this era exactly got the need for a counting device for the effectiveness. This era gave rise to the first-ever counting device known as the abacus. Before this invention, people use to tie knots to the strings and record numbers. The use of bones to count and carve on stone was also a method used to record the numbers.
What is an abacus?
The term abacus is derived from the Latin word ‘abax’ meaning a slab, which is a surface covered in sand and used as a drawing board. The salamis tablet is the oldest abacus slab made up of marble in 300BCE. In this salamis tablet, the Pebbles were placed on these lines to count out values. The bottom line represented 0 to 4; the line above counted 5s, and the lines above that 10s, the 50s, and so on.
This system was then updated by Romans by the formation of a device that simplified the great calculations. The horizontal rows of the Greek abacus were switched as vertical columns in the roman abacus, where a small set of pebbles or calculi took place to derive the necessary calculation.
How does the abacus work?
The device consists of a total of 71 beads attached in a unique formation where 9 rods are attached. Each rod from the right-hand side to the left indicates the place value increase that is from tens to a hundred million. The rods are partitioned into 2 parts where one part represents earth and another part represents heaven. The heaven part consists of 1-2 beads on each rod with the value of 5 of each bead whereas the earth has 5 beads in each rod with a value of 1 of each bead. The beads near the partitioned rod are considered as the number represented in the abacus. Refer to the picture below for a clear understanding of the abacus.
Who came first?
In the 2nd century BCE, the abaci became famous and a common tool in China. This was exactly similar to the Roman version. The only difference was metal frames and pebbles were replaced with wooden frames and beads. Whether the Chinese or Roman version came first was a question but they both coincidently related the concept to the 5 fingers counting and two separated decks.
Conclusion
The modern calculation techniques which made the calculation easy and quick just came into existence due to these initial ideas of counting techniques. An abacus is now a form of mathematical technique which is taught to children to improve mental math solving and helps to make mathematical calculations easy till now. The concepts which came into existence before even 500BCE are forever an asset in the world of mathematics.