Re: How does a calculator work

Let's break your question down into two parts:

1. What sort of mathematics does your calculator do when you try to do calculations?
2. How does the calculator actually do those mathematical calculations?

This first part explains Binary Numbers and Binary Arithmetic. If you'd like more detail, here is a webpage I put up on this: BINARY NUMBERS AND ARITHMETIC

For the second question, here is a webpage I put up, from a class I developed, that explains how the calculator uses logic circuits, called gates, to add numbers: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/4284/logiccircuits/logiccircuits.html

It shows how a half adder is made from more basic gates, an AND gate and an EXCLUSIVE OR gate.

I have a page that moves up from there and shows how the half adder is used to make a microprocessor (basically, what is inside a calculator..although there are also other uses for a microprocessor): http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/4284/simplecomputer/simplecomputer.html

Here is a photograph of a microprocessor:

Here is a previous Mad Scientist answer that shows how some logic gates are made from MOS transistors (sorry that one of the images is missing): 909439032.Cs.

...and here is another Mad Scientist's previous answer that shows how a MOS transistor works: 859495932.Eg