Google adds a calculator to search

In a move that makes its search engine just that little bit more powerful, Google has added a scientific calculator to its search results page.

All you have to do is type your equation into the Google search bar and the calculator will appear at the top of the search results.

Previously, Google would just display the results of the calculation.

Alex Chitu said in a post on an unofficial Google blog yesterday: "It's certainly more efficient to just type the expression you want to calculate, but some people might prefer the traditional buttons. They can search for [a calculator] and use the new Google Calculator interface."

It's worth noting that Google's Calculator doesn't mimic a standard pocket calculator: you can enter a long expression with multiple operations and Google doesn't display the result until you press the "=" button. This way, you can enter "3+3*3" and still get the proper result. Another thing to keep in mind is that you can't press the "1" button and then the "sin" button to compute sin(1), you should press the "sin" button first, and then enter the argument of the function. There's no persistent "clear" button, but you can long-press the "delete" button.

In addition, Google has added a simple conversion calculator when you enter a conversion into the search bar, with a drop down menu for temperature, length, mass, speed, volume, area, fuel consumption, time and digital storage.

Google told CNET Australia, "Users have been able to search for equations for a while and quickly see the answer on the search results page, and we recently expanded the feature to include a graphing function and 3D graphing. Today we've updated the calculator feature to be more intuitive and easy to use."