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Another surprise is that Google’s calculator also handles conversions. It knows miles and meters, furlongs and light years, seconds and fortnights, and even angstroms and Smoots—and can convert from one unit of measurement to another.

The key to using the Google calculator as a converter is to express your query using the proper syntax. In essence, you want to start with the first measure, followed by the word “in,” followed by the second unit of measure. A general query looks like this: x firstunits in secondunits.

For example, to find out how many feet equal a meter, enter the query 1 meter in feet. Not sure how many teaspoons are in a cup? Enter 1 cup in teaspoons. Want to convert 100 U.S. dollars into Euros? Then enter 100 usd in euros. And so on and so forth.

When you can’t be troubled to reach over and pick up the handheld calculator sitting on your desk, you can use Google as a high-tech web-based calculator. All you have to do is enter your equation or formula into the standard Google search box, and then click the Google Search button. The result of the calculation is displayed on the search results page; it’s that simple.

You can use the standard algebraic operators to construct your calculations—+, -, x, and / for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, accordingly. For example, to add 2 plus 3, enter 2 + 3 and press Enter. To divide 10 by 2, enter 10 / 2, and so on.

And Google’s calculator isn’t limited to basic addition and multiplication. It can also handle more advanced calculations, trigonometric functions, inverse trigonometric functions, hyperbolic functions, and logarithmic functions. Just enter the proper formula into the search box, and wait for Google to display the answer.