4. Slide Rules: A Primer

I’m a tool guy. I love tools of all sorts, be they software, hardware, shop tools, hand tools, or drafting tables. But I hold a special place in my heart for old tools, particularly those that performed a function in a simple and elegant way long-since forgotten in lieu of high technology. The slide rule is one such tool. My grandfather was a mechanical engineer and statistician, and a lifelong slide rule user. When I convinced him to give me one, I had no idea the obsession that would ensue.

Because it’s such a powerful and elegant tool, I’ve created an entire primer intended to explain the basic ideas that underpin this beautiful tool. I believe that the slide rule teaches the underlying concept of logarithms in a way that modern teaching techniques do not.

I’ve created a printable PDF document that explains the information below in more detail, and contains full-size graphics that can be printed for experimentation, as well as exercises to reinforce comprehension of each section.

Download Printable PDF:
sliderule_primer_081101_03