How Do You √ ?

Its just one little button on your calculator - or on your calculator *app*, fine - but how exactly does your device work out the square root of a number?
An octopus, an ancient Mesopotamian, and Sir Isaac Newton line up to compete for the SQRT prize.
This video was originally created for the University of Sydney's online course, Numbers and Numerics (NaN).
Credits:
Octopus video: • タコのすごい能力！- The terribl...
Babylonian tablet: Yale Babylonian Collection, photo by Bill Casselman, www.math.ubc.ca/~cass/Euclid/ybc/ybc.html
Babylonian statue: photo by Flickr user Rosemaniakos,
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mesopotamia_male_worshiper_2750-2600_B.C.jpg
Abraham house in Ur: photo by Aziz1005,
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20160105-Abraham_house_in_Ur_Iraq.jpg
Milky Way: NASA

[@TopQuark]

Thanks for the positive vibes, folks. If anyone feels like, you know, sharing this and other TQ videos around on Ribbit, Farcebook, Tooter and the other social medias, that would make my day. But only if you want to. No pressure. We're all friends here.

[@InfiniteHarmonics]

Perhaps you can do a follow up on the DOOM square root algorithm.

[@TopQuark]

InfiniteHarmonics ah, now that’s a fun one.

[@SteevyMathew]

You know, i never thought about that. Well done sir! I am actually really happy that you are posting more and frequently and the range of topics is quite vast. This single video could even touch searching algorithms because you are trying to find an answer and that in turn touches big O and what the differences are between them all. I wonder, could explain the meaning of your channel name? Potentially a video into quantum mechanics perhaps?

[@TopQuark]

Steevy Mathew glad you like the videos, I’m having fun making them. The channel name is partly a play on Top Gear, the TV show, but mostly because I’m a physicist - so, yeah, there will probably be some quantum in there at some stage.

[@Promptopus]

Awesome video! can't believe you dont have more subscribers

[@TopQuark]

David Juhl neither can I! :) so at least you now know what to do next [hint hint]

[@Promptopus]

@@TopQuark Also, something to think about.... I posted this on facebook and several people made fun of me for posting a video with the title "How Do You SQUIRT". Just saying

[@TopQuark]

David Juhl yeeeeeeees. That had occurred to me. Time to change the title methinks.

[@johanjoseph4802]

By the river of Babylon 😂😁

[@TopQuark]

Johan Joseph Bony M seriously underrated IMO

[@johanjoseph4802]

@@TopQuark It's also criminally underrated that you have so few subscribers. Deserve so much more mate. Also.. Can never get enough of Rasputin. Thanks to my dad for introducing me to Boney M.

[@TopQuark]

Rah Rah Rasputin indeed @@johanjoseph4802 - Russia's greatest love machine, so I hear.

[@jonathanwalther]

Nice wig...