Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
Not just a think tank. An entire army of think.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                                     

Rotary Abacus

 A Rotary abacus
  (+3)
(+3) 		  [vote for,
against]

So, I was looking at an abacus one day, and I thought: What if you had a rotary abacus? Like the sticks with the beads rotate around a pivot. Maybe the central, stationary part has its own beads. Or something like that

I don't even know what the implications or possible uses would be of this, I just know it's a new idea, and there are some uses that would probably be obvious.

Dicuss

—EdwinBakery, Jan 04 2012

Curta http://www.vcalc.net/cu.htm
[MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 04 2012]

Please log in.
If you're not logged in, you can see what this page looks like, but you will not be able to add anything.
Short name, e.g., Bob's Coffee
Destination URL. E.g., https://www.coffee.com/
Description (displayed with the short name and URL.)






       huh ?
—FlyingToaster, Jan 04 2012
   

       NEJAB
—Alterother, Jan 04 2012
   

       A bit like a Curta calculator (link).
—MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 04 2012
   

       It's essentially a floating-point abacus.
—phundug, Jan 04 2012
   

       Good for teaching circular reasoning.
—RayfordSteele, Jan 04 2012
   

       I would buy one, even though I can't do math.
—DIYMatt, Jan 05 2012
   

       Rotary abacus is a bad title, I think what Edwin means is a 3D abacus of variable geometry.
—DIYMatt, Jan 05 2012
   

       and can someone explain to me why a Curta costs $1500?
—DIYMatt, Jan 05 2012
   

       Probably because they are more complex and far prettier than a Rolex and haven't been made for several decades.
—MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 05 2012
   

       I have a cylindrical slide rule at home.
—hippo, Jan 05 2012
   

       Two words: Orrery Abacus...
—RayfordSteele, Jan 05 2012
   

       If the beads get stuck, then it's an ornery abacus.
—phundug, Jan 05 2012
   

       If the beads get stuck, it's an ornery rotary orrery abacus.
—MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 05 2012
   

       If the beads get stuck in the Lion's offensive tackle's backside, it would be an ornery rotary orrery Backus' back abacus.   

       Perhaps one should be figure-8 shaped, for teaching about infinity...
—RayfordSteele, Jan 05 2012
   

       misread as "rosary abacus," part of the ancient chinese catholic accountant toolkit.
—swimswim, Jan 05 2012
   

       In the days of Kipling's Kim, pundits carried rosaries that were covert calculating devices, to do land surveying in regions forbidden to Europeans.
—mouseposture, Jan 05 2012
   

       /Dicuss/   

       Misread this as discus. Fetch fido!
—slackline, Jan 08 2012
   


 

back: main index
business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle