The Leibniz wheel, also known as a stepped reckoner, is a calculating tool invented by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in 1672. The wheel works by multiplying and dividing numbers by a series of steps, which are marked on the wheel. It was one of the earliest forms of mechanical calculators and paved the way for modern-day computation. There are several synonyms for the Leibniz wheel, including the stepped reckoner, stepped drum, stepped cylinder, and stepped wheel. These terms all refer to the same type of calculating tool that uses a series of steps to perform mathematical operations.