One of my students and her husband were going thru the process to buy a car at one of the local dealers. By coincidence, I had just taught the class how to use the PMT function with Excel. The next day after they had completed the transaction, she would tell us an anecdote about it. It results that she had obtained the calculation using the PMT function, based on the values given, principal, interest, rate, and interest period (number of payments/months). This calculation allowed her to learn the maturity value or the total amount comprised by the principal + interest, they would have paid at the end, after finished making payments. Then, when the salesman presented the documentation for them “just to sign”, she noticed a discrepancy between the results she obtained and those by the salesman. Therefore, she asked the salesman to explain where that extra amount had come from, and so she found out the salesman had added charges they were not aware of. He, not happy at all, had to remove them, finally matching the amounts.
These things happen very commonly during this specific type of purchase. Salesmen make the buyers wait, usually for hours, with the purpose of wearing down their patience, turning them so anxious that they want just to sign the work papers and go home. Strategy that usually works. It should not happen to you, learn how to use the PMT Excel function. Let’s do it.
With Excel opens, enter the following data:
In cell C2 enter Rate: In cell C3 enter # of payments: In cell C4 enter Principal: In cell C5 enter Payment: In cell D2 enter 7% In cell D3 enter 24 In cell D4 enter $5,000.00
No data is entered in cell D5; just have it selected, with the focus remaining on it.
Note: You may change the rate, the number of payments/months, and/or the principal for any value you want now. However, once we have obtained the result, you can change the values too, and the formula will update the value of the previous result.
At this point, we have paralleled values on column C and D, except for cell D5, where we will have our seek value produced by the formula, which is the amount of the monthly payments.
Make sure the focus is still on cell D5. Click on the Formulas tab, following by a click on the “Financial” group. A functions list is displayed; scroll down until you see the “PMT” function and click to select it. Its dialog box will open. Follow the steps below:
Click on the Rate box to place the cursor in it.
Click on cell D2 in the spreadsheet. Its reference will appear.
After the D2 reference, type a forward slash ( / ) followed by the number 12 – in the Rate line of the dialog box. This gives you the interest rate per month.
Click on the Nper box to place the cursor there.
Click on cell D3 in the spreadsheet.
Click on the Pv box.
Type a minus sign ( – ) and then click on cell D4 in the spreadsheet.
Click OK in the dialog box.
The answer $223.86 appears in cell D5.
When you click on cell D5 the complete function = PMT (D2/12, D3, – D4) appears in the formula bar above the worksheet.
You can save the work, so you can reuse it anytime in the future. Let us know what you think about this post, or post your comment.
Is there any other technology more accessible than wireless communication? Probably not, but, while the usage of cellular phones (wireless technology) has been found harmful to the human brain due to radiations, one cannot avoid wondering how our brain will be affected by living in a wirelessly networked world, where signals would virtually be everywhere. As the so-called pervasive technology advance, the world’s aerial space will be saturated by wireless communications, which makes one wonder if we will be shielded against such a massive and constant radiation. It is not just the wireless technology itself, but its linkage and juncture with emerging technology such as nanotechnology, and the humans’ trend to embrace them boundlessly.
Since day one cellular phones were accessible to the public, its acceptance was practically unanimously by the whole world the cell business went from $3 million a year, to close $30 billion. Everyone wanted to have a cell phone, and the fact that mobile phones at their beginning were not affordable for the lower social classes, made them even more appealable and a have-to-have-it. This was the namely second generation (2G) with the digital technology, when cell phones really started to mutate into what we know now, because before that, the so-called first generation (AKA “car-phone”) used the traditional radio frequency. The 2Gs mass production and its affordability changed the urban view to the one where everywhere people would be seen with a cell phone. The ever-increasing popularity of cellular phones has been incredible, and against some predictions, it never lowered, and the advances of technology that added media features (3G) and data processing capability (4G) have further reduced any probability based on statistics. “Smart-phones” simply have people mesmerized, and they are accountable not just for increasing the number of cellular phones users, but also for increasing the amount of time people spend using them.
One of the main ways in which 4G differed technologically from 3G was in its elimination of circuit switching, instead employing an all-IP network. Thus, 4G ushered in a treatment of voice calls just like any other type of streaming audio media, utilizing packet switching over the internet, LAN or WAN networks via VoIP. In sum, dragging us into the World Wide Web.
To the fascinating multi-featured nature of the new generation of cellular phones, it is to be added the nanotechnology. In fact, the accomplishment that the 4G phones represent is mostly due to the nanotechnology, converging with the wireless communication technology. Here we see two things that fascinate masses and that have converged: nanotechnology and mobile communication. The predominant technology in communication is “wireless technology”, which has been established, based, and relies on the “Satellite communication” that serves as the infrastructure for communication going global. The application of the technology is to develop the capability of transferring information back and forth. However, this convergence, mobile communication, and nanotechnology, takes the first one to an entirely different and unexpected level.
Nanotechnology is a field of science and technology of controlling matter on a scale of 1-100 nanometers, and it is an extremely multidisciplinary field where converges together many areas, including electrical and mechanical engineering, physics, chemistry, and biosciences. Nanotechnology will radically affect all these disciplines and their application areas. What is the impact of wireless communication technologies? The nanotechnology impact on mobile communication will redefine our lives in a way practically impossible to foresee in its entire dimension. Researchers appear to be in a race than rather that resulting in a single winner and loser may lead to all of us winning or losing, because whatever it arises from the convergence, it will have a global effect. Meaning, it will affect all human race on Earth, and possibly other species.
Eric Drexler popularized the word nanotechnology in the 1980’s, when he was talking about building machines on the scale of molecules, a few nanometers wide—motors, robotic arms, and even whole computers, far smaller than a cell. Drexler spent the next ten years describing and analyzing these incredible devices and responding to accusations of science fiction. At that time, researchers were working on developing the ability to build simple structures on a molecular scale. As nanotechnology became an accepted concept, the meaning of the word shifted to encompass the simpler kinds of nanometer-scale technology. Then, the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative was created to fund this adventure: their definition includes anything smaller than 100 nanometers with novel properties. Today nanotechnology is deemed to have reached its third generation, where 3D networking and robotics are emphasized.
Mobility also implies limited size and restrictions on the power consumption. Seamless connectivity with other devices and fixed networks is a crucial enabler for intelligence systems’ environment – this leads to requirements for increased data rates of the wireless links. Information, sensing, context awareness and increased data rates require more memory and computing power, which together with the size limitations leads to severe challenges in thermal management. All these requirements combined lead to a situation, which cannot be resolved with current technologies. Nanotechnology could provide solutions for sensing, actuation, radio, embedding intelligence into the environment, power efficient computing, memory, energy sources, human–machine interaction, materials, mechanics, manufacturing, and environmental issues. Within next ten years, as foreseen, the development of truly embedded sensors based on nanostructures will become a part of our everyday intelligent environments.
Nanotechnologies may also augment the sensory skills of humans, based on wearable or embedded sensors, which though not the particular focus here, should not be omitted. Embedding intelligent and autonomous devices into physical objects of the world requires that devices adapt to their environment and become a part of the network of devices surrounding them, and this, should be a primary concern and subject of closer analysis.
The idea that technology is moving beyond the personal computer to everyday devices with embedded technology and connectivity as computing devices become progressively smaller and more powerful. Also called ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing is the result of computer technology advancing at exponential speeds — a trend toward man-made and some natural products having hardware and software. Pervasive computing goes beyond the realm of personal computers: it is the idea that almost any device is networked, and every system is networked as to structure the World Wide Web in its ultimate stage. From the cell phone to the TV; from the TV to the door’s lock system; from the lock’ system to the mailbox to tools to cars to the human body, chips can be embedded to connect the device to an infinite network of other devices. The goal of pervasive computing, which combines current network technologies with wireless computing, voice recognition, Internet capability and artificial intelligence, is to create an environment where the connectivity of devices is embedded in such a way that the connectivity is unobtrusive and always available.
So far all that I heard is concerns with regard the political implications of such a networked world via the pervasive technology, but nothing about the potential health risks, that some environmentalists called “the tobacco smoke of the 21st century”. However, criticism aims to the effects on health caused by the electromagnetic waves derived from the wireless technology used on wireless networks, especially telephones. These Groups has focused on the proliferation of “hot spots” or Wi-Fi (free). Nevertheless, the great danger is arising from the convergence of all of these technologies to conform a MESHED WORLD. Even if the intensity of the electromagnetic waves were minimized, even if armor shielded us, the grid would be so vast that will be practically impossible to avoid. This issue needs closer attention, especially because it’s one neglected now.
Is there any other technology more accessible than wireless communication? Probably not, but, while the usage of cellular phones (wireless technology) has been found harmful to the human brain due to radiations, one cannot avoid wondering how our brain will be affected by living in a wirelessly networked world, where signals would virtually be everywhere. As the so-called pervasive technology advance, the world’s aerial space will be saturated by wireless communications, which makes one wonder if we will be shielded against such a massive and constant radiation. It is not just the wireless technology itself, but its linkage and juncture with emerging technology such as nanotechnology, and the humans’ trend to embrace them boundlessly.