Xref: utzoo sci.math:7131 comp.misc:6423 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcvax!ukc!etive!aiai!ken From: ken@aiai.ed.ac.uk (Ken Johnson) Newsgroups: sci.math,comp.misc Subject: Re: Base 3 computers? (was: Divide by three?) Message-ID: <548@skye.ed.ac.uk> Date: 27 Jun 89 09:26:33 GMT References: <6710021@hpcupt1.HP.COM> <6250@sunray.UUCP> <626@hrc63.co.uk> Reply-To: ken@aiai.UUCP (Ken Johnson) Organization: AIAI, University of Edinburgh, Scotland Lines: 28 In article <626@hrc63.co.uk> pj@hrc63.co.uk (Mr P Johnson "Baddow") writes: > >I have been trying to figure out how it [a base-3 computer] could work. One way would be to operate it to base 3 but have three digits +1, 0 and -1. Thus: +1 -1 -1 means 5 (+1*9 + -1*3 + -1*1) +1 +1 means 4 +1 0 means 3 +1 -1 means 2 (+1*3 + -1*1) +1 means 1 0 means 0 -1 means -1 -1 +1 means -2 (-1*3 + +1*1) -1 0 means -3 -1 -1 means -4 -1 +1 +1 means -5 (-1*9 + +1*3 + +1*1) etc. etc. -- Ken Johnson, AI Applications Institute, 80 South Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1HN E-mail ken@aiai.ed.ac.uk, phone 031-225 4464 extension 212 `I have read your article, Mr. Johnson, and I am no wiser than when I started.' -- `Possibly not, sir, but far better informed.'