Types of Abacus
Abacus can be divided into the following types :
- Suanpan Abacus: This is also known as Chinese abacus. It was one of the first abacus invented in 1200 C.E. The word ‘suanpan’ stands for calculating tray. The abacus consist of a vertical frame with one bead on the top deck and five beads on the bottom deck and calculations can be performed by moving the beads up and down in the beam.
- Soroban Abacus: This was an abacus developed by Japan. It was a derivation from the Chinese ‘Suanpan’. It had a design consisting of one separate bead having a value of five, called go-dama and four beads each having a value of one known as ichi-dama. It consisted of a minimum of 7 rods. It is now being used worldwide because it has emerged as most powerful tool for teaching maths.
- The Roman Abacus: This was developed by the ancient romans. It was the first portable calculating device but it was much less capable and could perform base-10 version of earlier abacuses. Nevertheless it was greatly used by merchants , tax-collectors and anyone who ha to perform basic calculations.
- Sumerian Abacus: The sumerians were the first one to come up with a device for performing calculations. It had a very basic design consisting of a simple stone tablet or a flat surface, divided into five columns numbered 1s, 10s, 60s, 600s, and 3600s Since each bead had a value the addition was performed considering the value being added. Further developments were done in design by other countries as well.
- Cranmer Abacus: It was invented by Terence V Cranmer. This was designed keeping in mind that it can be used by visually impaired people. It consist of a piece of rubber behind the beads, keeping them in place while the users manipulate them. It is a promising aid for students who want to learn but are reluctant because of their blindness. The whole design is same but the addition of soft fabric makes it special.
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