The HP-35: The most important Reverse Polish Notation calculator in the world [Update]
Sadly, HP’s current computing technology is sub-par and won’t let us embed a video of Dean Takahashi and some guy named Wozniak talking about the HP-35 in reverent tones.
# The HP-35, named for its 35 keys, was the first handheld calculator to perform transcendental functions such as trigonometric, logarithmic and exponential functions.
# At the time, contemporary calculators could only perform four basic functions – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
# The now classic “Reverse Polish Notation” (RPN) first used in the HP-35 has become the most efficient way known to computer science for evaluating mathematical expressions.
# In the first three years after its introduction in 1972, sales of the HP-35 Scientific Calculator exceeded 300,000 units.
# Forbes ASAP named HP 35 as one of the 20 “all time products” that have changed the world.
# It was the world’s first handheld scientific calculator with a LED display.
# HP-35 has traveled to the top of Mt. Everest for use in altitude and navigation calculations.
# HP-35 is regularly used to navigate ships.
# HP-35 has been used by astronauts aboard spacecraft to calculate the exact angle of re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.