logarithmic tables
Pre-computer multiplication aid
Logarithmic tables are printed reference charts that were used to simplify multiplication, division, and exponentiation before electronic calculators became widely available.
By converting multiplication into addition and division into subtraction, these tables allowed scientists, engineers, and students to perform complex calculations more quickly.
We had to look up values in logarithmic tables for our physics homework.
They became largely obsolete by the 1980s but remain a useful teaching tool for understanding logarithms.
- base tenDigits zero through nine
- nomogramGraphical calculator using intersecting scales
- interpolationEstimating between known values
- decimal placesPositions after decimal point
- graph paperPre-gridded drawing sheets
rounding errors · mantissa · number crunching · exponential function · characteristic · abacus · Babylonian mathematics · astrolabe · sextant · Pythagorean theorem · golden ratio · Euclidean geometry · Fibonacci sequence
logarithmic tableselectronic calculator
Digital arithmetic device
digital computer · calculator · computer · smartphone app · scientific calculator
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