“Abacus”
is a term used for a primitive device, which made use of fingers of both hands
for doing arithmetic calculations. The Abacus instrument was needed by
merchants to calculate the cost of their trades in countries like China, Japan,
Korea, Thailand etc.
Structure of the device
The
evolvement in the structure of Abacus can be divided into 3 stages namely:
Primitive age, Ancient age and the Modern age.
1.
Primitive Age
The
primitive Abacus initially had horizontal alignment when it was invented.
Stones and pebbles were used as beads. The use of stones added to the weight of
the abacus, limiting its mobility and often results in losing the track of the
counts. Due to these complexities the number and size of beads were reduced over
a period.
2.
Middle Age
The
ancient Abacus was restructured by Sumerian, Babylonian, Chinese, Japanese,
Indian, Greek, Egyptian and Roman civilizations during different ages.
Therefore, Abacus has faced changes in its structure according to different
cultures. Two of the most popularly known Abacus of this age are Suan Pan
(Chinese) and Soroban (Japanese).
3.
Modern Age
The
modern day Abacus is, a frame made up of either wood or metal, with vertical
alignment of rods in which the bead move while performing calculations. Soroban,
the most recent Abacus modified by Japanese is the one we make use of today. There
are 17 vertical rods. The frame is divided into 2 decks: the upper deck and
lower deck. The upper deck has 1 bead on each rod, and the lower deck
constitutes 4 beads in a single rod. Even the modern day computer uses
references from Abacus for performing calculations.
Application of Abacus Today
The
Abacus today, is used as a device that enhances the complete brain development
also resulting into improved mental arithmetic skills.
Join Master Mind, an Abacus training institute
to develop your mental maths skills.
