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Slide Rules

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  • D Dalek Dave

    OK, from the previous post, How many here actually OWN a slide rule, and can you use them? (I have one, and yes, I can use it). Actually I am reminded of an old physics teacher who pointed out that the calculations regarding a particular experiment were fairly simple, and "Didn't require a bucket of water in which to cool the slide rules!"

    ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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    Jim SS
    wrote on last edited by
    #13

    I have one in my drawer. That and my abacus become my emergency backup computer. :) I show it to the young kids around here just to see their response.

    SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill

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    • J Jim SS

      I have one in my drawer. That and my abacus become my emergency backup computer. :) I show it to the young kids around here just to see their response.

      SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill

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      Dalek Dave
      wrote on last edited by
      #14

      Jim (SS) wrote:

      I show it to the young kids around here just to see their response.

      One of disbelief I would imagine! :)

      ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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      • D Dalek Dave

        Jim (SS) wrote:

        I show it to the young kids around here just to see their response.

        One of disbelief I would imagine! :)

        ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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        Jim SS
        wrote on last edited by
        #15

        Mostly "Really?", "How does it work?", "What do you do with it?"

        SS => Qualified in Submarines "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". Winston Churchill

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        • D Dalek Dave

          OK, from the previous post, How many here actually OWN a slide rule, and can you use them? (I have one, and yes, I can use it). Actually I am reminded of an old physics teacher who pointed out that the calculations regarding a particular experiment were fairly simple, and "Didn't require a bucket of water in which to cool the slide rules!"

          ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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          benjymous
          wrote on last edited by
          #16

          I've got one in a drawer somewhere at my parent's house that my Dad gave me. He tried to explain how it worked, but I never really got my head around it. I keep meaning to get a decent abacus, and train myself to use it Chinese-style

          Help me! I'm turning into a grapefruit! Buzzwords!

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          • D Dalek Dave

            OK, from the previous post, How many here actually OWN a slide rule, and can you use them? (I have one, and yes, I can use it). Actually I am reminded of an old physics teacher who pointed out that the calculations regarding a particular experiment were fairly simple, and "Didn't require a bucket of water in which to cool the slide rules!"

            ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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            Big Daddy Farang
            wrote on last edited by
            #17

            I've never owned one, but we learned how to use them in high school. I'd need to learn it again to use one today.

            BDF People don't mind being mean; but they never want to be ridiculous. -- Moliere

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            • M Marc Clifton

              What a slide rule? Some sort of new design pattern? ;) Marc

              Available for consulting and full time employment. Contact me. Interacx

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              Luc Pattyn
              wrote on last edited by
              #18

              Marc Clifton wrote:

              What a slide rule?

              An ingenious device that uses logarithms in order to let you add two numbers together. :zzz:

              Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [My Articles]


              - before you ask a question here, search CodeProject, then Google - the quality and detail of your question reflects on the effectiveness of the help you are likely to get - use the code block button (PRE tags) to preserve formatting when showing multi-line code snippets


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              • L Luc Pattyn

                Marc Clifton wrote:

                What a slide rule?

                An ingenious device that uses logarithms in order to let you add two numbers together. :zzz:

                Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [My Articles]


                - before you ask a question here, search CodeProject, then Google - the quality and detail of your question reflects on the effectiveness of the help you are likely to get - use the code block button (PRE tags) to preserve formatting when showing multi-line code snippets


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                Russell Jones
                wrote on last edited by
                #19

                Isn't it for multiplication and division rather than addition?

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                • R Russell Jones

                  Isn't it for multiplication and division rather than addition?

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                  Luc Pattyn
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #20

                  Yeah, that's what they teach, but when using the logarithmic scales properly, you really can do addition with it. Great invention, too bad non-sliding computers are taking over. :)

                  Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [My Articles]


                  - before you ask a question here, search CodeProject, then Google - the quality and detail of your question reflects on the effectiveness of the help you are likely to get - use the code block button (PRE tags) to preserve formatting when showing multi-line code snippets


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                  • D Dalek Dave

                    OK, from the previous post, How many here actually OWN a slide rule, and can you use them? (I have one, and yes, I can use it). Actually I am reminded of an old physics teacher who pointed out that the calculations regarding a particular experiment were fairly simple, and "Didn't require a bucket of water in which to cool the slide rules!"

                    ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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                    Todd Smith
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #21

                    I can use one but not for its intended use :mad:

                    Todd Smith

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                    • D Dalek Dave

                      Come off it grandad, I bet you used them! :-D

                      ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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                      Gary Wheeler
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #22

                      Beat me to it. I'll bet at one time Clifton had one on a belt holster.

                      Software Zen: delete this;

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                      • D Dalek Dave

                        OK, from the previous post, How many here actually OWN a slide rule, and can you use them? (I have one, and yes, I can use it). Actually I am reminded of an old physics teacher who pointed out that the calculations regarding a particular experiment were fairly simple, and "Didn't require a bucket of water in which to cool the slide rules!"

                        ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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                        Dan Neely
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #23

                        I don't own one, but have used it in the past. March 99, calculator free month in advanced physics.

                        Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall

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                        • D Dalek Dave

                          I just get a feeling that only people of 40 years plus will have/have used them!

                          ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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                          Dan Neely
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #24

                          I'll be 28 in a few months. I can multiply/divide on one. I never needed to use any of the other math features it provided.

                          Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall

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                          • G Gary Wheeler

                            Beat me to it. I'll bet at one time Clifton had one on a belt holster.

                            Software Zen: delete this;

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                            Steve Mayfield
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #25

                            on a belt holster which led to the phrase "when in doubt, whip it out" :-D

                            Steve _________________ I C(++) therefore I am

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                            • S Steve Mayfield

                              on a belt holster which led to the phrase "when in doubt, whip it out" :-D

                              Steve _________________ I C(++) therefore I am

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                              Gary Wheeler
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #26

                              White short-sleeved shirt, glasses held together with tape, bragging about his big ten inch...

                              Software Zen: delete this;

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                              • D Dalek Dave

                                I just get a feeling that only people of 40 years plus will have/have used them!

                                ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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                                PIEBALDconsult
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #27

                                Not so much; my father never showed me how to use his, and I never saw him using it either. When we did logarithms on high school we used calculators.

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                                • D Dalek Dave

                                  OK, from the previous post, How many here actually OWN a slide rule, and can you use them? (I have one, and yes, I can use it). Actually I am reminded of an old physics teacher who pointed out that the calculations regarding a particular experiment were fairly simple, and "Didn't require a bucket of water in which to cool the slide rules!"

                                  ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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                                  Brady Kelly
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #28

                                  I had one, in high school, for a few months before they finally allowed scientific calculators. It wasn't a masterpiece, I didn't cherish it, and it is lost in the annals of my history some twenty-five years or more ago.

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                                  • L Luc Pattyn

                                    Yeah, that's what they teach, but when using the logarithmic scales properly, you really can do addition with it. Great invention, too bad non-sliding computers are taking over. :)

                                    Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [My Articles]


                                    - before you ask a question here, search CodeProject, then Google - the quality and detail of your question reflects on the effectiveness of the help you are likely to get - use the code block button (PRE tags) to preserve formatting when showing multi-line code snippets


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                                    Rob Graham
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #29

                                    The logarithmic scales are what permit a slide rule to do multiplication. Setting the index of the slide over one multiplicand, one will then find the product beneath the other multiplicand. For this to result in addition, the scales would have to be linear, not logarithmic, and the resultĀ  would be the sum of the number under the index and the other addend.

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                                    • D Dalek Dave

                                      OK, from the previous post, How many here actually OWN a slide rule, and can you use them? (I have one, and yes, I can use it). Actually I am reminded of an old physics teacher who pointed out that the calculations regarding a particular experiment were fairly simple, and "Didn't require a bucket of water in which to cool the slide rules!"

                                      ------------------------------------ "May I introduce Blon Fel-Fotch Pasermeer-Day Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, known by her friends as Margaret" The Doctor

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                                      Chris Maunder
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #30

                                      Yes and yes! (though only for reasonably basic stuff).

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                                      • R Rob Graham

                                        The logarithmic scales are what permit a slide rule to do multiplication. Setting the index of the slide over one multiplicand, one will then find the product beneath the other multiplicand. For this to result in addition, the scales would have to be linear, not logarithmic, and the resultĀ  would be the sum of the number under the index and the other addend.

                                        L Offline
                                        L Offline
                                        Luc Pattyn
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #31

                                        Yes, multiplying and dividing numbers on a slide ruler is based on log(x*y) = log(x) + log(y) which shows multiplication on one scale is equivalent to addition on another scale. On a simple ruler, with a few scales all layed-out logarithmically, the only thing you can do is slide the parts (that is adding lengths), then read the product/quotient. More elaborate rulers have extra scales, supporting extra functions; when a linear or a quadratic scale is present, you can do addition/subtraction! Here are an introduction[^] and a nice collection[^]. :)

                                        Luc Pattyn [Forum Guidelines] [My Articles]


                                        - before you ask a question here, search CodeProject, then Google - the quality and detail of your question reflects on the effectiveness of the help you are likely to get - use the code block button (PRE tags) to preserve formatting when showing multi-line code snippets


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                                        • M Marc Clifton

                                          What a slide rule? Some sort of new design pattern? ;) Marc

                                          Available for consulting and full time employment. Contact me. Interacx

                                          P Offline
                                          P Offline
                                          Pete OHanlon
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #32

                                          It's what the kids shout at wet and wild. "This slide rules."

                                          "WPF has many lovers. It's a veritable porn star!" - Josh Smith

                                          My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys

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