Calculating problem?

[andizuki1982]

Please is there anybody out there that knows how a calculator works and can you describe it in a way us mere mortals can understand. Obviously I know what it does I just don`t know how?

[gen2]

The numbers you enter are first converted to binary numbers that use just 1s and 0s.
That keeps the rules of arithmetic simple. For example there are only 4 rules of addition:
0 + 0 =   0
0 + 1 =   1
1 + 0 =   1
1 + 1 = 10
(There would need to be 100 such rules in denary arithmetic)
The other reason binary is used is because it is easily represented in electricity by a part of the circuit being either switched on (1) or off (0).
Simple circuitry (called AND, OR and NOT gates) can combine the values in the rules to give the required output.
The result is then converted back into denary for the display.

 

[simsfreq]

That's correct, for real simplicity here is a more broken-down explanation of binary!
The number system we use is called denary, there are 10 digits (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 0)
These numbers can be converted into binary, which has 2 digits (1 and 0) so to count in binary would be: 0, 1, 10, 11, 100, 101 (Which translates to 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

[Loosehead]

There are 10 types of people, those who understand binary and those who don't

[Tim Baxter]

When a calculator multiplies it just adds and adds and adds, eg.  3 times 7 would be calculated by adding 7+7+7=21.  When it divides it just subtracts and subtracts etc.  12 / 3 would be 12-3-3-3-3 (4 times remainder 0)