[Phys-L] Re: Calculators a Distraction?

[Hugh Haskell <hhaskell@MINDSPRING.COM>]

At 18:08 -0500 2/7/05, Edmiston, Mike wrote:
> When doing iterated addition to achieve the multiplication a*b, one of a
> or b is the addend while the other is the number of iterations.  Let's
> say b is the addend.  We start with accumulator = zero and add b into
> the accumulator a times.  At that point the accumulator contains the
> product.  Thus, we have to have a starting value for the accumulator
> (zero), and addend (b), and we have to keep track of the iterations
> until (a) iterations have been performed.
Of course, when a is not an integer, then the process includes a few
more steps, and starts to look something like an inverse of the
process that JD outlined as the basis for the long division algorithm.

Hugh
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Hugh Haskell
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