HP calcs are really not that accurate..

[brickviking]

DA74254 Wrote:In my opinion, there should be no reason that we should not have, say, at least 256 digits/decimal points accuracy. That goes for any device capable of doing "2+2".

Paul_Dale Wrote:What are you trying to represent that requires so many digits?
How can you possibly measure something that accurately?

256 digits are far more than you'd need to represent the diameter of the universe in terms of the planck length.

In addition, while computers have gobs of spare memory and awesome (!) floating point processors, calculators do not. Most calculators are not expected to be connected to the wall just to plain work (or charge their batteries after 9 hours of use), they're expected to work after 6 months (or more!) of use just the same as when the battery was first put in. This requires serious compromises in the choices of CPU or multifunction chip so as to make best use of the limited energy resources available from batteries.

As previously mentioned, the amount of precision you actually need is often very different from the amount of precision you want. It's also different from the amount of precision you can usefully create yourself due to tolerance factors. 5mm of tolerance in the amount of space required for a bridge would probably be acceptable given other environmental factors, however in the case of aeronautics, 5mm of tolerance on a flight from Auckland to Heathrow would be considered excessive, yet calculators can already give us that degree of precision (average of 10 dp, perhaps with 1-3 guard digits).

Let's not make this a "Schwanzvergleich" discussion.

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