Did you know that John Napier born into wealth? Did you also know he was the 8th Laird of Merchiston? But finally, did you know that he was an astronomer? These are some things you will be learning.
• John Napier’s lifestyle
• Education
• Accomplishments and Achievements
• How he affected the world and me
• “Father of Computers”
• The term “debugging”
• Computer Timeline
• Different types of computers
John Napier was born on February 1, 1550. He was born near Edinburgh, Scotland which was Merchiston Castle and died the same place. He died on April 4 1617. He was 67. John Napier was a Scottish mathematician and physicist. He was also an astronomer and an astrologer. He lived in Edinburgh. John Napier was born into a wealthy family. His father, Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston Castle, was a wealthy landowner. His mother, Janet Bothwell, was the daughter of the judge, Francis Bothwell the Lord of Session. His mother’s’ father was also a politician. John Napier had a brother and a sister.
He was homeschooled early from private tutors. His formal education was from St. Savaldors College, also known as St. Andrews. He was sent there at the age of 13. He liked theology but did not study that. He had left before he got his degree. He traveled for further education and studied other things at other Universities.
John Napier has affected the world with his achievements. Logarithm has affected people all over the world. He has helped scientists and mathematicians all around the globe. John Napier’s invention Napier bones has helped many people throughout the years. It has too affected people in the mathematical workfield. It was the world’s first practical calculator. The people who needed to solve a math problem they would go to that. It made it much easier to do math for the average person even.
An invention of John Napier is the Napier Bones. The Napier Bones were made in 1617 shortly before he died. The Napier Bones are a mechanical method for performing multiplication and division. Napier Bones method was based on manipulated rods and printed digits. Napier Bones rods’ were made up of bones, ivory, wood, or metal. He made Napier’s Bones because he considered mathematical learning a hobby. John Napier also came up with a theory called Logarithm. He was best known for this invention. He also wrote books too.
All of these accomplishments accredited to the development of the computer. He was an incredible mathematician. He was completely ahead of his time. He was very different from the average person. His inventions have helped the world, the people, and the development of the computer.
John Napier’s invention of the logarithm theory affects me in a positive way. Later in life I will use logarithm for math. It will help me figure out interest rates. Such as the GDP rates. This is the gross domestic product. I can use logarithm to find our growth in health of our country’s economy. It will also help me find cause of an effect. I can use this while using money. An example for that is a $1,000 investment to a $1,500 investment in 2 years.
John Napier is so many things. He is a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and physicist. This man was very smart and creative. He did so many jobs over his lifetime. He has affected the world with his inventions and has helped many people in their jobs. This is what fascinates me most about John Napier.
The “Father of Computers” is credited to Charles Babbage. This is because he invented the first ever mechanical computer. It was the blueprint for other people inventing computers. This was after his invention of the Analytical Engine in 1837. His son Henry Babbage was able to complete a portion of Charles’ machine. He never completely finished his computer. But because of his ideas and concepts he became the “Father of Computers.”
Grace Hopper coined the phrase of “Debugging” a computer. This was after she found a moth her computer. It appeared to be in the Mark Aiken Relay Calculator while this was being tested. This testing was at Harvard University on September 9, 1947. They had found the moth in on of its parts. The engineers put in into the computer logbook with tape. The engineers had named this part of the book the “first actual case of bug being found.” The phrase of “debug” and “bug” soon after became part of the computer programming language. That is how “Debugging” came to be.
There are several different types for computers. First is the Supercomputer. Supercomputers are very expensive and extremely fast. It is one of the fastest computers that are available today. This computer is for specialized applications. These applications require huge amounts of mathematical calculations.
The second is a Mainframe. A Mainframe is a multi-user computer cable. This is powerful. Nowadays it is very large and expensive. The third is a minicomputer. This computer is not small or big. A Minicomputer is a midsize computer. This is basically a multiprocessing system. It supports up to 200 users at the same time.
The fourth type of computer is a Workstation. This type of computer is normally used for engineering applications and more. This is a single user computer. This type is similar to the Personal Computer. This is just a little more powerful and higher quality.
The fifth type is a Personal Computer. Personal Computers are small. This is a single user computer. A Personal computer is based on a microprocessor. It is a relatively inexpensive computer. Businesses use these types of computers. But they can range from $67 – $6,700. Most popular uses at home are playing games and surfing the internet.
There are several different types of Personal Computers. There are 7 different types of Personal Computers. The first is a Tower Model. This is referred to when a power supply, a motherboard, and mass storage devices are stacked on each other. This is in a cabinet. The main advantage of this is less space restrictions. It makes putting in other storage devices much easier.
The second type is a Desktop Model. The Tower Model is very different from this. This is designed to fit on top of desk, normally with a desktop on top of this. They are wide and low. Also, because of the size they are normally limited to three internal storage devices. This model is designed to be small.
The third type of is a Notebook Computer. Its weight is very light. They normally weigh less than 6 pounds. They can easily fit in a briefcase. The difference is the display screen. Personal computers and a Notebook Computer have the same CPU, memory capacity, and disk drives. This computer is expensive. They come with battery packs instead of using a cord to plug in. There isn’t really much about Laptop Computers. This is the fourth type. It is just portable and small computer. It is so small it can sit on your lap. Nowadays these are called Notebook Computers.
The fifth type is very small. This is called a Hand-held Computer. It can be held in a hand. Even though it is convenient they have not replaced the Notebook Computer. This is because the keyboards are small and so are the screens. Some companies are trying to replace the keyboard with an electronic pen. These are also called PDA’s, palmtops, and pocket computers. Palmtops are the sixth type. This and the seventh type, PDA’s, are basically Hand-held Computer.
The people that were given credit for inventing the Internet are Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn. They invented the Internet in the 1970’s. But the first workable design of the Internet was created by ARPANET in the 60’s. ARPANET stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. Tim Berners-Lee who was a computer scientist invented the World Wide Web in 1989. He wrote the first computer program the next year. The Internet was called the “network of networks.”
This Computer Timeline will occur from 1965 through 2016. There have been some major accomplishments throughout this 51 year time period. This will have different companies in it. This will also have different people that were given credit to the computer and Internet development.
