Which calculator is the best for physics? The answer might surprise you.

Honestly, I don't know which one is the best. However, I'm going to go through some common options. In this video, I use:
- TI 83
- super cheap no-name calculator
- Casio fx-115ES
- HP 28s
Oh, and python - here is the code
trinket.io/glowscript/13206697d4

[@ghgjftythnhcfghdty]

Once you've used RPN you can never go back to conventional input notation, it's just so much more efficient and elegant.

[@chrisengland5523]

Absolutely! I've got two of those HP28's, both in perfect condition and apart from the fact that modern displays are so much better, you can't beat them. Non-RPN calculators are simply confusing. Do you type the √ before the number or after? Same question with sin(). It varies from one calculator to another, but with RPN calculators, EVERY function comes after the numbers(s), even + and - . You can also chain calculations, you don't need separate memory registers because everything sits patiently on the stack until you need it. It's just brilliant.

[@ianboard544]

True!! I have a bunch of HP calculators HP-21, HP-41CV, HP-42 and HP-48. RPN chews through the most complicated expressions with ease. 'TI notation' with parentheses is bullshit. There is no contest.

[@WiltonSilveira]

I have HP 12C, HP 19BII and HP 50g. I love! In RPN, btw.

[@jimbo6993]

Yep. I use an HP-15C. I’m worried about it dying on me, and not being able to replace it. I’ve had it since the 90’s! Please make more, HP.

[@ianboard544]

@@jimbo6993 ypu might look at one of the swissmicros calculators if you are worried.

[@ianboard544]

Get an RPN calculator. Even if it's a 'vintage' model. It will take about 10 minutes to get the hang of RPN after that you won't want to go back. It is SOOOOOOO much easier than messing with parentheses when dealing with complicated experessions.

[@wb.c]

MathPrint with TI, and Natural Text book entry with Casio are way better than any RPN calculator. You enter exactly as shown on paper, it’s fast due to dedicated keys, you can verify input, edit input and the calculator does all the order of operations thinking for you. How is RPN better than that?

[@mikeonthecomputer]

​@@wb.c equation editor inputs are enormously slow. It looks pretty (sometimes even makes sense), but it's way slower than RPN

[@wb.c]

Can you provide and example that you think would be slow? Also, how can you check your work on an RPN calculator? If you have to do it twice, it’s definitely not fast.

[@mikeonthecomputer]

@@wb.c I think the problem in the video is a perfect example of such a thing. It's easy to do this fast on an RPN calculator. Just follow along with what you're doing and you'll get it done.

[@wb.c]

So how do you check your input on an RPN calculator? Let’s say your final answer is wrong. How do you know where you went wrong? In your example you only use single line entry which sucks. Even RPN calculators can only handle equations in a single line entry with parentheses. RPN is not better, you just don’t know how to use newer calculators that have moved on from single line entry and use MathPrint or Natural text book display. There is a reason RPN fizzled out after 2004-2007 when Casio and TI introduced Natural Entry and MathPrint. Just like how the slide rule fizzled out when electric calculators came into play.

[@BlueRidgeCritter]

I was first introduced to RPN when I was in graduate school in the mid-90s. A professor loaned me his 15C and the manual for weekend and basically challenged me to try it out honestly. So I did, and I can't lie, within an hour I was hooked. I didn't have to write anything down, and in longer equations it was just so much quicker. The next morning I dropped $200 on a 32SII, which I still have to this day. I guess I retired it for a 35S, but I will never sell it. That 32SII got me through the first 10 years of my career. I was heartbroken when HP did away with RPN and the calc division (or most of it). One thing is for sure, I will never be able to go back. Try as I might, I flub using regular calculators all the time. 😂

[@victoriabrockman5473]

RPN is what you use when you know what you want the calculator to do.

[@skyewalker40]

This made me put batteries in my HP-28C for funsies. Agreed on RPN, I still rock a HP-42S for work.

[@foomoo1088]

I love how he starts with the crappy calculator and immediately does 10 minutes of math simplifications by hand just to make it possible to do some final steps with the cheap calculator

[@MattMcIrvin]

The slide-rule version would involve the same steps, so it's preparation for that.

[@Crazytesseract]

On a Casio, press the [ENG] or [SHIFT] [ENG] key to display the result in scientific notation.

[@Paul-oi2wz]

The Casio could be used better: 1. Casio as a negative sign 2. It also has a fracture option so you could use that instead division

[@neo-d8y]

I started off with an expensive programmable TI calculator then soon switched over to an HP-15C an never looked back. PRN is the way to go hands down...

[@kevinpeterman7127]

OK, the Python part was mildly interesting (but only because I have never seen that particular language... honestly it looks a lot like basic so no big deal). I did like the demo of using the cheap calculator to do the calculation. "Luckily" the exponents worked out. You messed up the scientific calculator part so badly it is both nearly useless and overly complex. What's with adding unnecessary parentheses all over the place. And the Casio is only similar to the other calculators in that it looks the same. The main difference being that you can replay the calculations. And that, my friends, allows you to create a "program" on the fly. I am still a newby using the "newer" HP calculators (48g and 49/50G) but I believe they can be programmed on the fly too. You can also enter the equation exactly as shown using the equation writer. Even the HP41C (1979 era calculator) allowed you to assign values letters (a=2, b=4 ...) and use them in calculations.

[@carloscm1323]

The 42s is the best calculator for physics, engineering; another option is WP34s Calculator in your pocket. Cool!

[@GrantSpencer-Purple-Circle]

Waits until 10k subs so he has time to work out how to use sliderule.

[@aaronbredon2948]

I remember around 1994, I was doing tech support in an engineer’s office, and he had an HP-35 charging on his desk. The HP-35 was my first calculator-my father passed it on to me when he upgraded. RPN is just so much easier once you know how to use it. You literally do calculations in the order you would do them by hand. No parentheses needed. Some very complicated math might need more than the HP stack, but newer HP calculators have storage registers where you can put temporary results. N cell batteries are fairly easy to get. I have seen them in supermarkets recently. It’s not like some older Mercury cell batteries used in old cameras where the batteries aren’t sold any more and the voltage doesn’t match anything else.

[@gaius_marius]

Cool video. The Casio fx-115ES is actually quite a powerful scientific calculator. For this example, you could have used the solver function. You just enter your equation, then click SHIFT->SOLVE and it will allow you to find a solution for h. You don't even have to re-arrange the equation to isolate the variable. There's also a Constants library which contains values like G, etc.

[@DotPhysics]

I'm going to have to try that with the Casio.

[@izaacplambeck2620]

can you do this with physics?

[@kimchee94112]

HP 12C to clear is two key operation. Press the gold "g" key bottom third key from the left then clx (left arrow key) the key to the left of ENTER key.

[@frankbougrasse8047]

pfff This guy doing a video on Calculator and he doesn't know how it works.... At least do some research before recording the video...

[@JJGhostHunters]

I have a PhD in electrical and computer engineering. I used the Casio fx-115es throughout graduate school. I cannot see how you can really improve over being able to enter your equations in one shot with a view similar to how you would write it out on paper!? I never understood why some people insist that RPN is superior. I guess some take pride in doing things in difficult and cryptic ways so they can feel they are smarter than others. The Casio in this video is all you need for in person exams in engineering graduate school. If assignments require large matrix calculations...just use Python with CUDA and a GPU and let that be it. Some of the real "smart" people in graduate school that use RPN also insisted upon doing modern machine learning in C/C++ because Python isn't a "real" language. These same people never finished their graduate studies.

[@MikeKobb]

Maybe a somewhat more charitable explanation than yours is that some people just think differently about problems? I love the way that RPN lets you easily work on a problem in smaller pieces. The problem in the video had a multiplication, a division, a square root, and a subtraction. I personally find it easier to do each of those in sequence rather than trying to fully express the equation on small device. And for doing sequential operations, RPN makes things really easy because the results of each part are sitting there on the stack ready for when you need them.

[@4thesakeofitname]

Well, I also used casio calculators throughout my electrical and electronics engineering education, and even at workplace. But I like the feel of RPN, indeed have just installed free42 app into my phone. I use it for simple calculations, it feels cool ! The HP device is really cool. However, anything more than a few lines of computation, of course done on a laptop... Coming to C/C++, python is just a huge library of ready made functions and an online interpreter, not a " raw programming tool"... (yeah I quit the PhD may be for the same reason!)

[@Crazytesseract]

Do you eat beef regularly?

[@levex2714]

Can you make more videos on how to solve problems using outthink.

[@peterhaagen8506]

I still use my hp 41 RPN calculator for 40 years’

[@granitepenguin]

my very first HP was the 28S, I just about fell out of my chair laughing when I saw yours; the pain is real. I still love that one, but live with a 48SX these days.

[@gideon4747]

I wish he had done a more complex problem, perhaps using gravitational potential energy or some form of that

[@HaroldSchranz]

The HP-15C is to die for!

[@kurtcobainsr]

Can't wait to see the slide rule video!

[@MrWaalkman]

Until then: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g3bceqOmerSEitk

[@MikeKobb]

I enjoyed this. I pulled my HP 48SX out of the drawer and did the calculation in a few seconds. I really think RPN calculators are the best for any calculation that has multiple elements like this. They take a little getting used to, but especially on ones like your 28S or my 48SX, where you can see a few of the stack levels, it's very easy to see what's happening.

[@dryster123]

It was a shame that the HP-11C was not working....that would have been best

[@MattMcIrvin]

The 12C would have been equally good for this calculation; he was just unused to the non-RPL version of HP RPN, since he'd learned RPN on the 28S. They changed the labels of the stack manipulation buttons so he couldn't find them in the older system. For instance SWAP is x⇄y.

[@ayyylmao4394]

with a TI you can enter variables inside your expression, then use a substitution rule to evaluate different inputs just like you did in python so you can get both the expression structure and quick value exploration on big expressions, try that with RPN !

[@MikeB3542]

I do a LOT of calculations every day (engineer)...though I have a soft spot for RPN, a basic TI-30XA is inexpensive and does everything I need. They cost $10-15 and can be found pretty much anywhere.

[@VuongNguyen-cg6yo]

I prefer to use the HP-41cv calculator. If you know how to program, store, and run the HP-41 program, it helps to solve too many scientific problems.

[@PythonDad]

I'm a big fan of the TI-36X Pro. No graphing, but I usually just use a desktop app or Python for that.

[@DotPhysics]

I know some people use it a lot - but I find the graphing features for most calculators to be not so great.

[@MrNoahTall]

Agreed. I have the 36X Pro, and its EU cousin, the 30X Pro which is faster and defaults to exact rational answer instead of decimal approximation. Both great devices.

[@fizixx]

I think this is a great, great video. Illustrating all the various calculators, and then python. I am getting better with python....playing with it a lot and learning the code. I'm not master, but I enjoy the results. Your examples have helped and I have read a lot on my own too.

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

I really love the Sharp EL506p and clones. They're dirt cheap, practically omnipresent, and pack tons of features into ~13 inches squared. Ps: They often have advertise themselves with "56 functions".

[@john_hind]

Watching a guy who actually understands RPN at some level struggle with the HP12C and actually give up was really painful, but illustrates the problem with RPN calculators. You do not have to clear the display, it is a stack, just start entering the new number (but you can clear the display with blue shift, CLX if you really want to). I agree with the RPN fans that RPN is better if you have a simple numeric display like the earlier models, but if you have a display that can show whole expressions like the TI-83, or better still one that can display proper 'text book format' on a graphical display, that is better than RPN because you can check your work and are less likely to make mistakes. Also you can edit the expressions if you want to calculate a similar expression without having to enter the whole expression again as you would with RPN.

[@ilcyclista1]

Shout out to my fx-115ES that got me through Numerical Analysis exams. Finished exams first, and quicker than those who had full algorithms programmed into their calculators.

[@MattMcIrvin]

As someone who used and loved an HP-28S, I am screaming at that section. Even if you DID have the batteries you might not be able to keep the battery door from falling to pieces.

[@strayblackcatsmeow]

Never liked HPs RPN. All my co-workers used a RPN HP with a program module. I wrote my own programs on a Tandy PC-6 Pocket Scientific Computer with 16K memory expansion. I would be long finished while they were still cycling through the canned program variable options. Just found a HP32Sii in excellent shape for $5.99 at a thrift store. The features look interesting so I bought an owners manual. This does what I currently need but I have to learn formula conversion for RPN entry.

[@N269]

What can I say??? RPN/RPL is a true mathematician's tool.... glad you found an RPN HP32S... it's a true method of thought. Good luck - have a look at the new HP15C CE or the DM41X or the DM42... they make you THINK....... what I find with many people is they don't rationalize the answers. But, YMMV.

[@MattMcIrvin]

I saw someone make almost exactly the opposite comment on one of these other videos: "I had an HP15c and my friends all had pocket computers... I'd long finished using the HP's built-in functions while they were still writing their BASIC programs to do all the stuff I did with one button." It's whatever you're used to and proficient with. I've actually used both a Sharp BASIC pocket computer and an HP RPL machine. Both great.

[@CaribouDataScience]

Hey! You forget the slide rule 😊

[@fredfrancium]

I have this question since I was child, Is the Solar Panels Really works in calcultors?

[@JacobRy]

some do some are fake, i think in casio they work but its dual- both battery and solar panel

[@fredfrancium]

@@JacobRy Then can I charge coin batteries with its cellular panel? 😂

[@petermikus2363]

@@fredfranciumnot sure i thibk so

[@fredfrancium]

@@petermikus2363 Then can we use the calculator as battery charger?

[@petermikus2363]

@@fredfrancium i think you cluld theoretically i never tried id however so

[@neo-d8y]

So much easier with an HP-15C calculator...much fewer keystrokes...

[@neo-d8y]

Clear button??? "CLX"...

[@mattagajanian2052]

He doesn’t know that CLx on the 15C clears the X register? Next, his calculators are so banged up? As he says he’s not a calculator guy. What’s he doing with them when he can’t even take good care of them? For starters, look at what his 28S looks like.

[@MusikPiratCH]

*lol* "Where is clear on a HP 12c?" He probably sees "CLX" but doesn't realise that this is the clear button! 🤣

[@DotPhysics]

in college, I used the HP with the "drop" button. Now I know about CLX - thanks

[@gcolombelli]

​@@DotPhysicsolder or newer model? I'm guessing newer, with a Saturn processor and "unlimited" stack.

[@thomasmaughan4798]

Clear X exists because of the register stack. No single button exists to clear the stack but when is that needed? "X" is simply the display window and the bottom of the stack (if you push UP). Anyway, CLX then enter four times will clear the stack. Actually, enter 3 times should do the trick but some models behave slightly different.

[@jamesmachado8874]

I have used most all of those calculators. Most of the time I reach for the cheep Casio.

[@vileCR999]

Hey man! I have a TON of TI old LED calculators and repair them with new Lithium-Ion battery packs. Hit me up if you need any help and I can send over how I do it!

[@scramjet4610]

Looking at around 13:10 for example, any RPN will smoke any of these algebraic (T.I., Casio, etc.) calculators. Hands down. Millenials and Gen Zer's don't seem to have the motivation to learn it, too bad.

[@jbecerrat]

min 16:52 HP 28S ... "mi calculadora real de la universidad".... !!!

[@jcbrites]

RPN Rocks!

[@DotPhysics]

yeah it does

[@borlibaer]

having that swanky hp 28C there is no need for "Python" online ! The best calculator is the one one is used to. its a silly & stupid thing using a bunch of different calculators !

[@thomasmaughan4798]

"Which calculator is the best for physics?" The one you know how to use! But seriously, RPN calculators are MADE for this sort of thing. So you want to use Python. Sure, but the topic is *calculator* .

[@user-xf7cw5re2h]

In my opinion, Mathematica is best for studying physics. I used mathematica for studying in matheMatics. It's very nice I get idea wile let Mathematica solve easy but cumbersome formula. Writting source of mathematica promote mathematical idea and mathematica's solving reduce the idea disturbance of easy but cumbersome calculation. And calculator is for getting result of formula latter than idea of mathematic or physics.

[@DotPhysics]

My two big problems with Mathematica. 1) it's not free. In fact, it's very expensive for people after they graduate. 2) There are some features that are very useful, but they are sort of like a black box in that you don't know exactly what's going on.

[@user-xf7cw5re2h]

You are correct. I studied with mathematica when i Study mathematics. It's not free. It's the big problem in education. And It has priority in some specipic area of mathematics like Calculus. It can't be used for number theory. And in the area of Linear algebra, calculator will be better than Mathematica. I want wolframe see the conversation between you and me. @@DotPhysics

[@MattMcIrvin]

@@DotPhysics I like Sagemath, which is a *free* computer algebra system based on a weird dialect of Python. But it's a beast to install (it actually takes several other free CASes including sympy/numpy and bundles them willy-nilly with a common interface).

[@foomoo1088]

Dang, toss that Frankenstein HP 28S in the trash and just find the clr button on the HP 12 C

[@bcphysics]

And of course the HP 42S, often seen as the best of the non-graphing HP RPN. kzbin.info/www/bejne/maK1paGNhdKHntk Love mine when not using a computer.

[@DiederikHuys]

Ohhh I surely want one of those, but I think in terms of ease-of-use, the 32S-II wins for most people (I had that one for years). And then there's of course the 48G(X).

[@DerekDavis213]

The HP 42S is widely considered to be one of the best RPN calculators ever made by HP.

[@Gumba213]

TI-98 all the way

[@skahatoad]

I had a TI59 or maybe tI58 LOVED IT. LATER HP28s AFTER SCHOOL LIMITED EDITION hp15c. rpn does rule.

[@DiederikHuys]

^^ 2nd hand TI-83+ is easily found under 10€

[@neo-d8y]

Try putting trinket in your shirt pocket...

[@DerekDavis213]

As soon as you bring out the slide rule, many young men will bail out on this video. They are gone. FYI...

[@UnconventionalReasoning]

Physics is better when numbers are left out as much as possible.

[@MikeKobb]

One of the things I really liked about my HP is that I could actually include units as part of the calculations. The nice thing about that is at the end, if the units of your result aren't what you expect, you can be pretty sure you've messed it up somehow. i.e., if I'm looking for mass, and I end up with kilograms per second, well...

[@UnconventionalReasoning]

@@MikeKobb Units should be left out of physics problems as much as possible. Unfortunately, it tends to be taught wrong.

[@michaelrobinson9952]

Yes,yes and thrice yes,brevity, clarity, and beauty. If you get bogged down with number crunching you often lose sight of what's happening to the system.

[@UnconventionalReasoning]

@@michaelrobinson9952 It's tough how difficult it is to convince people of this, both students and adults.

[@IrfanAli-qp1gm]

Crikey - very poor video. Very unprepared. Why show a calculator on video to find out it's not working.