Graphing functionality now available on Google search

In a move that seems to put them in square competition with, say, Texas Instruments, or Wolfram Alpha, search giant Google has just rolled out mathematics graphing functionality on Google search engine results. What does that mean? Well, your Google search engine just became a graphic calculator. Simply put, Google says that user can "just type in a function and you'll see an interactive graph on the top of the search results page." Guessing I'm going to use my TI-84 a couple times less after what Google search results can provide me from now on.

According Google Engineer Avi Avidor on the Google Search Blog, users can input a range of trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic (albeit only single variable) functions, and view them plotted out on the search result page, with the ability to zoom and pan for closer examination. They can also draw multiple functions by separating them with commas. Furthermore, this graphing functionality is available in "modern browsers" (please update your browsers, yeah!?).

Google's Avidor also ended with the quote, "I hope students and math lovers around the world find this experience as magical as I found the graphing calculator so long ago." We hope so too, Google, we hope so too. Whether you're currently a student, or haven't touched a graphing calculator for a long time, go give it a try. Just type in a function in the Google search bar, and you're good to go.

[via Google Search Blog]