722
Biology OP (mander.xyz)
submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Omega_Haxors@lemmy.ml 16 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Computers multiply by adding, subtract by adding, i'm not sure how division goes but i'm sure that's addition too.

[-] Omega_Haxors@lemmy.ml 8 points 8 months ago

Looked into it. It literally is.

[-] SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml 2 points 8 months ago
[-] icydefiance@lemm.ee 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

The other replies are simplifying too much. Just adding or subtracting in a loop would be far too slow.

A multiplier will find the partial products by using AND gates, and then sum them, which is very similar to long multiplication as they teach you in school. This article explains it pretty well.

Division is more complicated. It's sort of done like long division, but apparently that is slow and there's some magic with two's complements that can make it faster. Honestly I don't fully understand it yet.

[-] SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml 2 points 8 months ago

That article was really good. I feel like if someone explained it to me at a pub or party I could somewhat talk about it without sounding like a total ludite.

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2024
722 points (96.3% liked)

Science Memes

11047 readers
5232 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS