Google Calculator

This is kinda "geeky." Well, no ... to tell the truth it is *REALLY* geeky. Really *REALLY* geeky. But it is a cool kind of geeky.

Google now has a built-in calculator! No, really! Go to Google.com and instead of keying in a word or search phrase, key in a math problem like:

2 + 2 or 72 / 3 and Google will automatically show you the answer! That in an of itself is cool (and geeky), but Google's calculator will also solve simple, non-variable algebra and trigonometry problems like: 4^2 + 7 and cosine(75 degrees) That little pointy thingy -- the ^ -- is called a carat, and it is used in ASCII to signify exponents. So 4^2 is actually four squared. And, if that isn't geeky enough for you, Google's calculator also has a built-in unit converter. For example, try keying in 0b1111 in hex or 100 feet in astronomical units Neat, huh? According to Google, "The calculator can evaluate mathematical expressions involving basic arithmetic (5+2*2 or 2^20), more complicated math (sine(30 degrees) or e^(i pi)+1), units of measure and conversions (100 miles in kilometers or 160 pounds * 4000 feet in Calories), and physical constants (1 a.u./c or G*mass of earth/radius of earth^2). You can also experiment with other numbering systems, including hexadecimal and binary"

To prove once and for all that your fearless bus driver has no social life and entirely too much free time, here are just a few of my favorite Google calculator searches:

speed of light in knots,

5 smoot - 2 angstroms

1.21 GW(gigawatt) / 88 MPH

Answer to life the universe and everything

The folks at Waxy.org win for best search, though, for using Google's calculator to find the answer to life, the universe and everything multiplied by the speed of light divided by three teaspoons

I told you this was geeky!

For a pretty good list of every math function and unit of measure that Google's calculator supports, check out: from Dustgun

Finally, for those of you who are Grandpa Simpson fans, I am sorry to report that Google's calculator doesn't yet convert rods to hogsheads... but I'm sure the math geeks at Google are frantically working on fixing that oversight.

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