"Sliderule Universe"

[nivek]

http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/sruniverse.html

I remember Dad's sliderule at home and on the job. Web page dedicated to the old tool's use.

Lots of fun as well as practical information on learning how to make one work.

kevinL

[Lifer]

Interesting web site. I see that the 6" student slide rules like the one I had in junior high are still available. Unfortunately, today's science teachers provide the kids with calculators. They're okay, I guess, but the ol' slip-stick didn't need batteries!

[Lifer]

I just had another thought. I remember going through junior and senior high school with a plastic pocket protector in my shirt pocket. It always had a fountain pen (ball-points were banned), a mechanical pencil, a #2 pencil, a #3 pencil, a six-inch ruler, and my slip-stick in it. Yes...my eyeglasses were often held together with white adhesive tiape. I must have been a sight to behold! Pure geek!

[greencom]

Nothin wrong with geeks Lifer, wouldn't have M37's or anything else for that matter without them.
Greencom

[kc8sfq]

Kelley Johnson and his crew at the skunkworks designed the SR-71 with slipsticks when our trucks were still the state of the art in ground tactical transport. I still have my 12 inch pickett. Still wish I could figure it out.

[Reddman]

I also am of the "sliderule" generation . Yes, still have it and a special variation I used sr year of HS and into college ... a circular sliderule. Fit into a vinyl cover with "Physics is Phun" on the front, also fit into a shirt pocket unlike our full-size originals, and was a great help in the pre-calculator era. Still remember putting "powder" on the slide to make it move smooth and easy. Both original and circular are still with the original cases ... we must preserve our past or it will be forgotten (like our M37's) , My son and now grandson find them "interesting" and my son (25) even took the time to learn how to use one as a sr in HS. Now a grad student @ MS State University in Archaeology/Anthropology, he dug it out over the holidays to see if he remembered how to use it. Good memories of that era, thanks for encouraging them to the surface of my mind.
Reddman

[jbxx]

I still have mine, a 12" ivory faced beauty.
When I was at University we had the generation 1
calculators $350 for something I can get for $5 now.
I also have a circular one but it also has to intersecting slides
it's called a smith chart, still haven't figured out all the nuances
on that one.
J.B.

[N1VSM]

Interesting web site. I see that the 6" student slide rules like the one I had in junior high are still available. Unfortunately, today's science teachers provide the kids with calculators. They're okay, I guess, but the ol' slip-stick didn't need batteries!

One of the first things I told my students is that they had enrolled in the "Betty Ford Calculator Clinic" When learning calculus based physics in high school, you quickly learn that your calculator - no matter how fancy it may be - is useless (except for a doorstop, or perhaps beating yourself senseless).

[Lifer]

N1VSM...I now have a scientific calculator that my college algebra professor recommended we use in her class. It should be up to the task. Now, if I could just figure out how to use it......! All I've figured out so far is how to add, subtract, multiply, divide, do percentages, and squares/square roots. The SIN, COS, TAN, EE, LOG, and LN buttons are still Greek to me!

[N1VSM]

But - can you calculator do integrals over 4 dimentions or do partial derrivatives? Mine either. Makes me think of this:



BTW, I believe Reddman misspelled Physics. "Fiz6" is now the accepted spelling, in accordance with the law passed in the scientific community to further conservation of the alphabet.

[SOTVEN]

N1VSM...I now have a scientific calculator that my college algebra professor recommended we use in her class. It should be up to the task. Now, if I could just figure out how to use it......! All I've figured out so far is how to add, subtract, multiply, divide, do percentages, and squares/square roots. The SIN, COS, TAN, EE, LOG, and LN buttons are still Greek to me!

My scientific calculator I had through college, had all those buttons too. I am Greek, and trust me they were still Greek to me too lol.

[Josh]

I must not be a 100% true engineer... I can use one to basic stuff, but most of what I can do on one I can also do in my head, so that probably doesnt count really...

[DaveO]

Ha! I was a C-130 navigator up until recently. I still used the ol' E6B whiz wheel for something other than a spatula to get my mini-pizza out of the oven. Most of the kids who worked for me thought I was some kind of wierd old man (I'm 40, but as those of you that have service time know, that's over the hill and into the pasture beyond). They thought I was really nuts when I'd haul the periscopic sextant out.

I begin teaching at the Nav school this spring. I'll be pushing to reinstate the E6B into the cirriculum as I believe using it forces you to understand the problem you are trying to solve.

I have my dad's and grandad's slipsticks. One of these days I'll figure out how to use them.

Cheers!

[Lifer]

Understanding the problem has always been the key to solving it. I'm all for using any tool that will bring enlightenment into the picture. By all means...reintroduce the "whiz wheel."

[DaveO]

You know I will, Lifer. I've got 16 months left until retirement, and nothing to lose by being a pain in the butt until I get my way!