Old engineering & mathmatics stuff...

[URY914]

My father was an engineer and graduated in the '40's. He worked for years on his slide rules and loved to show others how they worked. He had them in every size and I still have some of them. He also had collected a bunch of trade show give away stuff and gifts from clients of rulers, slider rules, and other novelty items. All cool stuff, not the cheap plastic swag that is given out now.

[jcommin]

The trick using the slide rule is keeping track of the decimal point,

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by island911

I dunno... Seems to me that if you can't remember the sine of 30 you might not remember how to turn the calculator on. Same for sine of 0 or cosine of 0... Some are of fundamental value. That's what my special friend Eigen told me.

I remember Eigen - he has a lot of value

[Scott Douglas]

Just wanted to share a better picture of this cool piece of my dad's history.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Just wanted to share a better picture of this cool piece of my dad's history.

That looks like the one I have, but it's probably 12-13" long. I can't snap a pic since it's at work.

[Scott Douglas]

I found my big one....



A word of warning if you have a leather cover for one of these. I pulled this one out of a cover I've had it in for close to 40 yrs and it was corroding the end pieces. I think I will treat this like I treat my cameras. Store it naked as cases can only harm them with the way they attract and hold moisture, even when stored in a dresser drawer that doesn't see a lot of change temp/humidity wise.

[jyl]

My slide rule, now in service chez my son. Posing in his drafting table with his Thinkpad.

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by jcommin

The trick using the slide rule is keeping track of the decimal point,

Some claim that that's what makes "old" engineers different. I'm thankful to have been schooled by the old ones.

The best ever was in a grad level ceramics class when the prof slashed through a huuuge sintering kinetics equation with "sin x=x, cos x=1, something over big is zero...", and so on until we got to a 95% answer and only a few terms. The moral was that you can get close enough until you really care, then you'll pay somebody else to really care.

I need to learn to use a slide rule... Having relearned cursive writing (in my 40s) I guess that'll be my next party trick.

And my boss has a Curta calculator in his desk. Stamped "US Govt" and everything. If it's still there after he retires, it's mine!

[MRM]

I went to high school just as calculators were widely available. I never had to use a slide rule but I was close enough to that era that the teachers showed us theirs. We also had tests that barred calculators so we had to do the equation to figure out whatever it was we were supposed to use to solve the problem that was actually being tested. By the time I graduated calculators were allowed pretty much across the board.

My wife did inherit her grandfather's slide rule. It is ivory and has a velvet pouch. There are finger grooves worn into it from use. Her mother spent her career as a statistician in China. She was trained on an abacus and still used it well into the 1990s because she was faster on it than a calculator for some problems.

[A930Rocket]

Cool stories.

When I was in school, slide rules were out and calculators weren’t allowed.

Next time I go to my parents house, I’ll have to get my dad’s slide rule and learn how to use it.

[red-beard]

Here is the brother to the one in the picture frame.

I found these in a store in Western Mass about 1995. Her father used to drive a van to rural schools to sell school supplies. She put these in her shop and sold them at the price as marked. Yes, I bought this school level slip-stick for $1.59

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Here's some of my stuff.



The slide rule is aluminum w/leather holder.
Scale is from an old drafting machine Dad had. I'm sure my wife found it too big for us to keep around. Used to clamp it to a board to use it.
The books are K&E instructions for the slide rule. I have a large plastic slide rule but it is put away in a trunk in the closet. I also have Dad's old drafting set. Dividers, compass etc in a nice case.
I was an engineering student at one time, taking drafting in jr college I found the need to keep the lead sharp too much trouble to bother with. That and the math just didn't click with me for some reason.

Is that an N-600ES?

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

Cool stories.

When I was in school, slide rules were out and calculators weren’t allowed.

Next time I go to my parents house, I’ll have to get my dad’s slide rule and learn how to use it.

My Honors Chemistry Teacher (1980) told the class that it was one of the first where they did not teach us slide rules. The Ti-30 was out and virtually everyone had one. The "cool guys" wore it on their belt.

But seriously, I was a nerd. But not so much that I wore a calculator on my belt!

[jyl]

I had a TI 59 in college and I did wear it on my belt - then I switched from physics to math and had no more need of a calculator...

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by jcommin

The trick using the slide rule is keeping track of the decimal point,

As my father would have said, 'if you don't understand the general order of magnitude you shouldn't use a slide rule and you shouldn't be an engineer'.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by jyl

I had a TI 59 in college and I did wear it on my belt - then I switched from physics to math and had no more need of a calculator...

To 99% of the population that would be a real puzzler of a statement.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by 3rd_gear_Ted

Algebra is math in two planes
Trigonometry is math in three planes
Calculus is math in motion

I like this

First aluminum slide rule I have every seen. I love this place

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Originally Posted by Tobra

I like this

First aluminum slide rule I have every seen. I love this place

Proper attribution:

My Rockwell co-worker/tutor/mentor who worked on Guidance & Control systems; his answer to my question; why do I need to learn this???

[Scott Douglas]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Is that an N-600ES?

Yes, it is.

[Evans, Marv]

In the '60s, I thought slide rules were amazing things. I only had a cheap plastic one. I remember when calculators first came out, they only had basic functions, red numberal displays, & cost something like $100. At the time, I wondered why anyone would spend that much money on something a slide rule could do just as easily for a much cheaper investment.