Unless you store it in a drawer or use a protective cover, a solar-powered scientific calculator could be your best option.Ĭombining both power sources can give you peace of mind. The cells can charge from natural or artificial light, so your chances of running out of juice are very slim. If a calculator doesn’t have a lot of electrically demanding features such as printing and graphing – which scientific calculators do not have – then solar power is a great way to go. If it happens at an inopportune time, you’re out of luck. The biggest downside to using batteries, besides the environmental concern, is that when your batteries die, you no longer have a functioning calculator. An argument could be made for rechargeable batteries, however. With all the emphasis on renewable energy sources, it’s pretty hard to recommend a device that uses disposable batteries. Today, scientific calculators are either battery-powered, solar-powered, or dual-powered (solar and battery). Unless you have a desktop adding machine, the days of corded calculators are pretty much over. The only difference is its higher-resolution screen, which allows you to see the solution on a graph. A more advanced scientific calculator will have multi-function keys – activated by keys that work like the shift and option keys on your computer – and they will be able to solve boolean (true or false) as well as variable equations.Ī graphing calculator typically has the same problem-solving abilities as a scientific calculator. Even the most basic scientific calculator can handle sines, cosines, tangents, logarithms, and other functions. It might also be able to figure percentages, square roots, or perform other simple calculations as well.Ībout the time you start getting into algebra, a scientific calculator becomes handy. It can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. There are three different types of calculators: basic calculators, scientific calculators, and graphing calculators.Ī basic calculator only performs basic mathematical functions. Scientific calculators, however, are permitted devices. Lastly, buying older, all-solar powered calcs, such as the ones people sell on ebay, is a great way to reuse resources that are already around and don't require more mining and energy.Because of concerns about cheating, using a smartphone app for math calculations is not allowed in most classrooms or when taking standardized tests. They can operate in dim light and don't use any batteries at all. Texas Instruments' Ti-36X Solar and Casio's fx-260 Solar are very good calcs. In addition, the energy and mining required to manufacture all these batteries is depleting out planet's resources. A lot of this recycling occurs in poor third-world nations where little children and old people do it by hand, without gloves, and are therefore slowly being poisoned. (I've tested it that way).Īs an electrical engineer who has used and collected solar powered calcs for 27 years, I can say that the only reason for incorporating batteries in ordinary hand-held calcs is to give business to the button battery industry.īatteries are toxic items that require recycling before disposal.
It works very well under low lighting conditions even if the battery is removed. The one thing I really don't like about it is the fact that like so many other "dual power" or "battery backup" calcs, the presence of the battery is highly unnecessary. This calculator is very good for scientific/technical work. HP 6S Solar Scientific Calculator is a good value.
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