What is a slide rule used for?

Published by Anaya Cole on

What is a slide rule used for?

ProductLogarithmDivisionExponenti…Trigonome…nth root
Slide rule/Calculation supported

Who invented the circular slide rule?

William Oughtred
About 1622, William Oughtred (Figure 1, right), an Anglican Minister, today recognized as the inventor of the slide rule in its actual form, by placing two such scales side by side and sliding them to read the distance relationships, thus multiplying and dividing directly. He also developed a circular slide rule.

Are slide rules still used?

There are many pages about slide rules on the web, and you can still buy brand new slide rules (40 years old but never used, and still in their factory supplied box) in various places.

How does a cylindrical slide rule work?

The Fuller calculator, sometimes called Fuller’s cylindrical slide rule, is a cylindrical slide rule with a helical main scale taking 50 turns around the cylinder. This creates an instrument of considerable precision – it is equivalent to a traditional slide rule 25.40 metres (1,000 inches) long.

Who made the best slide rules?

OTIS KING, a London engineer, wrapped several feet of scales around a pocket-size cylinder in 1921 to achieve a portable slide rule with impressive resolution. FABER-CASTELL 2/83N slide rule is considered by some to be the finest and most beautiful slide rule ever made.

Are slide rules still used today?

What are the parts of a circular slide rule?

This circular slide rule consists of a silver-colored metal dial, 8-1/2″ wide, mounted on a silver-colored metal disc. Three oblong holes on the base disc permit the reading of trigonometric scales on a white celluloid and cardboard disc that is between the metal discs.

How many cursors does a circular slide rule have?

Pickett circular slide rule with two cursors. (4.25 in/10.9 cm width) Reverse has additional scale and one cursor. There are two main types of cylindrical slide rules: those with helical scales such as the Fuller calculator, the Otis King and the Bygrave slide rule, and those with bars, such as the Thacher and some Loga models.

What are the disadvantages of circular slide rules?

The main disadvantages of circular slide rules are the difficulty in locating figures along a dish, and limited number of scales. Another drawback of circular slide rules is that less-important scales are closer to the center, and have lower precisions.

Inventors and makers such as Albert Sexton, Louis Ross, Claire Gilson, Norman Albree, and Ross Pickett wanted their circular slide rules to compete with linear instruments in the engineering and education markets.

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