Multiplication using addition using logarithms Multiplication by addition using logarithms is possible and took place in past using slide rule and log tables. Is it still used in software? Maybe sometimes it's faster to convert numbers and use addition operations instead of multiplication, then convert numbers back? Is it used somewhere? If yes, where?

Leanna Jennings

Leanna Jennings

Answered question

2022-11-10

Multiplication using addition using logarithms
Multiplication by addition using logarithms is possible and took place in past using slide rule and log tables. Is it still used in software? Maybe sometimes it's faster to convert numbers and use addition operations instead of multiplication, then convert numbers back? Is it used somewhere? If yes, where?

Answer & Explanation

barene55d

barene55d

Beginner2022-11-11Added 23 answers

It always depends. There is always a tradeoff in time, memory and precision. At a fixed precision you can storing all the answers in memory and just look them up. In the case of log tables you can only get 4 significant figures at most before the energy you spend carrying the tables becomes more than the energy needed to calculate the logarithm yourself. (Your energy consumption may vary.) But modern hardware does not use log tables, not to say software, since we want many more significant figures. However, it is not known what is the optimal algorithm for multiplication or computing the elementary functions, including the exponential and the logarithm.

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