Back to Napier!

By the way, Annis and I are collaborating! :D
You probably figured out this post is about John Napier, but he's a good mathematician. Today, you'll learn about his invention of logarithms!! A logarithm is a quantity representing the power in which a base must be raised to in order to produce another number. The formula is log b( x). Well, it doesn't look like that because the b is below log and x. Anyways, the b is base and the x is the number to be produced. For example, log 3 (9) is 2 because 3 to the power of 2 or 3 squared is 9! Get it??

Well, there is also what is called common logs. Common logs are regular logarithms just by 10s. So, the equation for common logs is log x. So, log 100 is 2 because 10 squared is 100.  Now, you might just be thinking, why the heck do I need logarithms because they seem ridiculous.When they were invented, they were used to calculate big and long numbers because they didn't have calculators, which is really funny because Napier helped invent the calculator. Now, they are used to calculate pH scales, the Richter scale, and astronomers use logarithms too. Engineers use logarithms.
Logarithms are everywhere!
You might be thinking at this point, logarithms seem to be similar to exponents. Well, not exactly. Exponents of a number says how many times that number is multiplying itself. Logarithms are the opposite. It asks the question, what exponent produced this number?

 &

P.S: I how you enjoy our recent collaborations,because we might just have more!!

More Euler, Less History!

Ok, well first of all, Euler is awesome.However I couldn't really find history on his really cool formula, so I figured I'd just blog normally. Anyways, I thought I'd blog about Euler's formula. Euler's formula, first of all is V-E+F=2  or V+F-E=2. V for vertices, E for edges and F for faces. Basically, this means the number of vertices and faces of a convex polyhedron(Click here for a definition!) will always be 2 more than the number of edges of the same polyhedron. Try it out! If a convex polyhedron(in this case a cube) has 8 vertices, 6 faces and 12 edges, what does the formula look like? That would be 8+6-12=2. You may find that some numbers don't work, but that's probably because your solid is just not a convex polyhedron. However, V+F-E can also equal 1and/or other values, so Euler's characteristic was made. He's pretty smart, huh? Anyway, the general formula is V+F-E=x.That is where Euler's characteristic comes in. Umm... so this is an ultra short blog, read up and  things I already explained here! Because Math is Fun! ;D See Ya!

Look it's Euler!!

The Invention of the Calculator

  I am so sorry for not posting yesterday, but I am posting now. Anyway, you might be thinking, Why are you doing this again??? You already did the abacus, so they are similar. And yes, that's correct, but it's kind of cool, because it relates to another mathematician I blogged about. Blaise Pascal. Pascal first created a sort of calculator. Pascal created it as a way to help his dad handle taxes, not knowing what might become of his invention. Later, Gottfried Leibiniz picked it up, and added the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and divide button on the calculator for easy use. John Napier also added a set of metal rods he called, Napier's Bones, for the multiplication table.  That's basically it. I'll post later today, so do not worry. So, for now, See Ya!

The Amazing Abacus

For my first real post, I thought I'd talk about something very important in math, the abacus! It's somewhere pretty near the start of mathematics timeline.
      So what is a abacus, you say?
Well, you probably know what an abacus is. It's used worldwide. But basically, an abacus is a counting frame or board. It's really like an ancient calculator. The abacus looks different depending where it came from. The ones normally used by Americans are colorful and big.

An American Abacus

A Chinese abacus looks quite different.

A Japanese abacus is the same only it has one less bead in the top and bottom section.

The abacus was first found in Sumer more than 4,000 years ago. It moved onto China, Japan, and Africa. Finally, it went into the Western world. The American one goes by tens from top to bottom, but the Chinese one uses 4 on the bottom and then a 5 on the top, meaning it could go up to 9. The 2 extra beads were for those who went by 6s. But mainly, the Chinese ignored the extra beads.

An abacus can actually calculate addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square roots, and cube roots. Crazy, huh? All that came from a little board of counting beads. That is why it is safe to say that addition is the most important mathematical operation, however it is really the basis of all the other operations. Although, you might think the abacus is so ancient, the abacus is actually still used worldwide as I mentioned before, mostly by merchants in Africa and Asia. My opinion on the amazing abacus? Well, it's amazing alright but you would probably not find me using one, mostly because I don't how. It's actually quite complicated, using an abacus, but I know how to set up numbers. I just can't add, or subtract, or anything like that.  Use this Abacus Tutorial if you want to learn about basic abacus functions. I will post a site on the Links page if you just want to play with a Chinese abacus. For now, See Ya!

Proper Real Post #1

Ok, sorry for earlier, we had just created the site and we were feeling deliriously happy. So, anyway, I'm Strix Spell, I'm an administrator for this site. I will keep you posted on what goes on in the math world, complete with opinion on everything. I will be posting on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays because Annis won't let me post every day.
Kazuma will be posting on Thursdays and Fridays. "He" will post some facts on math as well as a riddle on math at the end of each week.
Annis is posting on the new developments (without opinion) and the history of math on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Any questions? Ask away!

UPDATE: ok, I figured it out with the other admins and I'm posting about math, the two sides of the terms, why they are good and why they are bad.

Annis is really weird

Hi! Annis here. I will be covering Math on the Timeline...
For the schedule, Strix will be writing All About MAth  on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and and Sundays. SOrry this blog is not edited very well... or at all. Kazuma will do Math Facts or I dunno whatever "he" wants on Thursdays and Fridays. My blogging takes place on Mondays and Tuesdays.  One last things, it's not my fault if this blog gets screwed up. See ya!