As the rulers each have a logarithmic scale, it is possible to align them to read the sum of the numbers' logarithms, which according to the law of the logarithm of a product equals the product of the two numbers.Įnglish mathematician and clergyman Reverend William Oughtred and others developed the slide rule in the 17th century based on the emerging work on logarithms by John Napier. Though similar in name and appearance to a standard ruler, the slide rule is not meant to be used for measuring length or drawing straight lines.Īt its simplest, each number to be multiplied is represented by a length on a pair of parallel rulers that can slide past each other. The slide rule is closely related to nomograms used for application-specific computations. Slide rules manufactured for specialized fields such as aviation or finance typically feature additional scales that aid in specialized calculations particular to those fields. Slide rules exist in a diverse range of styles and generally appear in a linear, circular or cylindrical form, with slide rule scales inscribed with standardized graduated markings. Maximum accuracy for standard linear slide rules is about three decimal significant digits, while scientific notation is used to keep track of the order of magnitude of results. It is not typically designed for addition or subtraction, which is usually performed using other methods, like using an abacus. The slide rule (also known colloquially in the United States as a slipstick ) is a mechanical analog computer which is used primarily for multiplication and division and for functions such as exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. Hopefully these metrics provide a convenient way for you to measure objects at any time.A typical ten-inch (25 cm) student slide rule (Pickett N902-T simplex trig)
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