Selected by Scientific American as a winner of the 2003 Sci/Tech Web Awards.
Contents
-
Introduction
Construction · Basics · Java Applet · Technique · The Abacus TodayHistory
Timeline · Salamis Tablet · Counting Board · Roman Hand Abacus · Suan Pan · Soroban · Schoty · Nepohualtzitzin · Khipu · Lee AbacusInteractive Abacus Tutor
Sarat Chandran and David A. Bagley's incredible Java abacus with a built-in tutor for counting, addition and subtraction.Calculations
Addition · Subtraction · Multiplication & Division · Square Roots · Cube RootsThe Lee Abacus
The manual for the Lee Abacus, c. 1958 is available as TextThe Abacus as Art
Michael Mode builds exotic abaci as art objects.Abacus: Mystery of the Bead
Abacus Techniques by Totton Heffelfinger & Gary Flom.
Articles,
Excerpts and Analysis
-
The Abacus vs.The Electric Calculator
In 1946, a contest held in Tokyo, pitted an abacus against an electric calculator; the abacus won, of course.Feynman vs. The Abacus
Richard Feynman battles against the abacus; the result is not surprising (if you know Feynman).Comparing the Chinese and the Mesoamerican Abacus
An analysis contributed by David B. Kelley.The Roman Hand-Abacus
An analysis contributed by Steve Stephenson.Ancient Computers
Steve Stephenson contributes another analysis on the Salamis Tablet and the Roman Hand-Abacus and proposes a theory on how these devices evolved.Using a Counting Board
In this video, Steve Stephenson explains how to use a Counting Board like the Salamis Tablet.The Incan Khipu
String, and Knot, Theory of Inca Writing by John Noble Wilford.
Talking Knots of the Incas by Viviano and Davide Domenici.Lost Tribes, Lost Knowledge
An article about the dangers of forgetting knowledge learned from the past, by Eugene Linden.
All Things
Abacus
Additional Abacus Resources
Purchase or build an abacus · An abacus for your Palm · Books about the abacus · Java applet source code · The Mesoamerican abacusResources For Teachers
The abacus in the classroom · Abacus lesson plan · Math and science resources for teachersPhotos
High-resolution photos of my abacus collection.
What's New
Updated: Sun 06 Apr 2014 03:54:28 PM EDT
Frequently Asked Questions
Before you email me, please take a moment to read this list of answers to questions I'm asked most often. (And yes, you have my permission to link to this site.)
Reader Correspondence
Just a small sampling of email I have had the pleasure to receive.
Awards & Honours
In existence since 1995, this site has collected a few awards and the Java applet appeared in several books and magazines.
Thanks
The collected contributions of very many people made this site possible.
Access Statistics
Sorted list of accesses over the period of a year, shows the popularity of individual abacus pages.
Translations
Please help...
Would you consider translating one or more of these pages to Español, Français, Português, Italiano, Deutsch?